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Governor ol Iowa 



Dedication of Monuments 



ERECTED BY THE STATE OF IOWA 



Commemorating the death, suffering and valor of Her Soldiers 
on the Battlefields of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, 
Missionary Ridge, Shiloh, and in the Con- 
federate Prison at Andersonville 




NOVEMBER TWELFTH TO TWENTY-SIXTH 
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND SIX 



Compiled by 

Alonzo Abernethy, for the Committee 
f 



ts 



1 



i-(o4- 



Published in accordance with the requirements of Concurrent Resolution number 
five, Thirty-second General Assembly, 

BY 

W. C. HAYWARD, Secretary of State 



0. OF a 

APP 10 1908 



DES MOINES: 

EMORY H. ENGLISH, STATE PRINTER 
E. D. CHASSELL, STATE BINDER 



CONTENTS 



Page 
Letter of Transmittal - - - - - - 11 

Introduction .-....-13 

Colonel Alonzo Abernethy 

Personnel of Dedicating Party - - - - - 18 



VICKSBURG 

Introductory - - - . - - 25 

Secretary's Report - ..... 28 

Colonel Henry Harrison Rood 

Presentation of Monuments to the Governor - . - 32 

Captain J. F. Merry 

Acceptance and Presentation to the United States - - - 34 

Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 

Acceptance for the United States . . - - 39 

General Granville M. Dodge 

Address - - - - - - - - 48 

J. K. Vardaman, Governor of Mississippi 

Oration .......51 

Colonel Charles A. Clark 

Poem "Vicksburg" - - - - - - 63 

Major S. H. M. Byers 

The Commission and its Work .... 73 

Inscriptions on the Monuments - - - - - 77 



ANDERSONVILLE 

Introductory - ..... 93 

Presentation of Monument to the Governor - - - 96 

Captain James A. Brewer 

Acceptance and Presentation to the United States - - 98 

Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 

(5) 



6 CONTENTS 

Page 

Acceptance for the United States - - . . . 102 
General E. A. Carman 

Roll of Iowa Soldiers buried at Andersonville ... 108 

The Story of Andersonville ... . . . HO 

Benjamin F. Gue, Ex-Lieutenant Governor of Iowa 

The Commission and its Work - - - - - 127 

Inscriptions on the Monument - - - - - 128 



CHATTANOOGA 

Introductory ....... 133 

Lookout Mountain 

Address ....... 138 

Colonel Alonzo Abernethy 

Address ■ - 142 

General James B. Weaver 

Address ....... 145 

Henry A. Chambers 

Address - ..... - 148 

Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 

Sherman Heights 

Address ....... 152 

Captain Mahlon Head 

Address - ..... - 154 

Nathan E. Kendall 

Address ....... 156 

Captain J. P. Smartt 

Address - ..... - 158 

Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 

Rossville Gap 

Address ....... 163 

W. L. Frierson, Mayor of Chattanooga 

Presentation of Monuments to the Governor - - - 164 

Captain John A. Young 



CONTENTS . 7 

Page 

Acceptance and Presentation to the United States - - 171 
Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 

Acceptance for the United States - ... 176 
General E. A. Carman 

Address 182 

Major R. D. Cramer 

Address - ..... . 187 

J. A. Caldwell 

The Commission and its Work .... 191 

Inscriptions on the Monuments ..... 192 



SHILOH 

Introductory - ..... 201 

Exercises at the Regimental Monuments 

Address at Sixteenth Regimental Monument - - - 204 

Lieutenant John Hayes 

Address at Fifteenth Regimental Monument ... 207 

Major H. C. Mc Arthur 

Address at Sixth Regimental Monument ... - 212 

Jesse A, Miller 

Address at Eleventh Regimental Monument - - - 215 

Captain G. 0. Morgridge 

Address at Thirteenth Regimental Monument - - - 217 

Captain Charles W. Kepler 

Address at Second Regimental Monument - - - 220 

General James B. Weaver 

Address at Seventh Regimental Monument - - - 222 

Major Samuel Mahon 

Address at Twelfth Regimental Monument - - - 226 

Major D. W. Eeed 

Address at Fourteenth Regimental Monument ... 228 

Colonel W. T. Shaw 

Address at Eighth Regimental Monument - - - 234 

Private Asa Turner 

Address at Third Regimental Monument ... 239 

Private J. A. Fitchpatrick 

Address 240 

Albert B, Cummins, Governor of Iowa 



CONTENTS 
Exercises at the State Monument 





Page 


Presentation of Monuments to the Governor 


- 245 


Colonel William B, Bell 




Acceptance and Presentation to the United States 


249 


Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 




Acceptance for the United States - - 


- 253 


Colonel Cornelius Cadle 




Address ---._.. 


256 


General Basil W. Duke 




Address - - _ . . . 


- 261 


W. K. Abernethy 




Address ----- - . 


268 


General James B. Weaver 




Address - . - . . - 


- 277 


Nathan E. Kendall 




The Commission and its Work . _ _ . 


289 


Inscriptions on the Monuments - - - _ 


290 


In Conclusion - . . . . 


301 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Albert B. Cummins, Governor of Iowa 

Iowa Memorial at Vicksburg 

Brigade Monument at Vicksburg . . - 

Bas-reliel "Grand Gulf on Vicksburg Monument 

Shirley House during siege of Vicksburg 

Shirley House, before and after Restoration 

Battery Monument at Vicksburg 

Vicksburg Park Monument Commission 

Cavalry Monument at Vicksburg 

Brigade Monument at Vicksburg 

Bronze Tablet Erected at Vicksburg - 

Iowa Monument at Andersonville 

Providence Spring at Andersonville 

View of Andersonville taken in 1864 

Andersonville Prison Monument Commission 

Iowa Monument on Lookout Mountain 

View on Lookout Mountain showing Craven House, etc. 

Iowa Monument on Sherman Heights 

Iowa Monument at Rossville Gap 

View on Missionary Ridge - - - - 

View on Orchard Knob . . - 

Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge Commission 

View of Tunnel Hill, Missionary Ridge 

Regimental Monument Erected at Shiloh 

Monument Erected to General W. H. L. Wallace 

Shiloh Church - - - - - 

Iowa Monument at Shiloh . - - - 

Pittsburg Landing in 1862 

Governor Cummins and Staff 

Shiloh Battlefield Monument Commission 



Frontispiece 
Facing Page 26 

32 

38 

50 

56 

62 

73 

78 

84 

88 

94 

" 102 

" 110 

" 127 

" 136 

" 144 

" 150 

" 160 

" 168 

" 176 

" 191 

" 196 

" 202 

" 214 

" 232 

" 242 

" 260 

" 276 

" 289 



MAPS 



Vicksburg and vicinity during the siege 
/ Andersonville Prison 
^ Chattanooga and vicinity 
^ Battlefield of Shiloh, first day 

(9) 



Between Pages 44-45 

" 118-119 
" 182-183 
" 296-297 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



To His Excellency, 

Albert B. Cummins, 
Governor of Iowa. 
Sir: In compliance with the provisions of chapter 190, 
Acts of the Thirty-first General Assembly, the undersigned sec- 
retaries of the various commissions authorized by the general 
assemblies of Iowa to erect monuments and memorials in honor 
of the Iowa troops who participated in the siege at Vicksburg, 
the battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Shi- 
loh, and those who were confined in the Confederate military 
prison at Andersonville, have the honor to herewith submit a 
report of the ceremonies at the dedication of the monuments 
erected by the several commissions. 

Very respectfully, 

Henry H. Rood, 
Secretary Iowa Vicksburg Park Monument Commission. 

Daniel C. Bishard, 
Secretary Iowa Andersonville Prison Monument Commission. 

Alonzo Abernethy, 
Secretary Iowa Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge 
Monument Commission. 

John Hayes, 
Secretary Iowa Shiloh Battlefield Monument Commission. 



(11) 



INTRODUCTION 



The dedication of Iowa monuments on southern battlefields 
has been completed and their final transfer made to the care of 
the general government. The governor and commissioners 
have finished the task assigned, and found it a pleasant mission. 
They were courteously met and cordially treated by southern 
officials, who joined heartily, as occasion offered, in the cere- 
monies. They gave abundant assurance of their loyalty to the 
Union and their love of the old flag. For these evidences 
of a re-united people all hearts may well rejoice. 

The occasion, however, as one battlefield after another was 
visited, proved one of pathetic reminiscence. It brought out 
in bold relief the limitations and shortcomings of human nature. 
It illustrated the colossal blunder of introducing African slavery 
into the American colonies. Although three hundred thousand 
slaves had been imported before Jefferson wrote the Declaration 
of Independence, the institution had been opposed by eminent 
men in America from the beginning. Washington, Jefferson, 
Madison, Franklin, Jay, and Hamilton, regarded it as an evil, 
inconsistent with the Declaration of Independence, and the 
spirit of Christianity, Jefferson even going so far as to say: "I 
tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." They 
had fled from one form of bondage in the old world, only to 
institute a worse form in the new. Eleven years later the pub- 
lic conscience of the nation foreshadowed the extinction of both 
slavery and the slave trade by the exclusion of slavery from the 
Northwest Territory in the ordinance of 1787, and the prohibi- 
tion of the slave trade in the constitution. 

Before the end of another eleven years, however, the institu- 
tion was encouraged and defended. It had become profitable. 
It tended to promote the development of the country and to 

(13 



14 INTRODUCTION 

foster a class in ease and luxury. It spread over the south, and 
both prospered. Human nature made the succeeding history 
inevitable. 

Slavery had become a national and serious issue when Henry 
Clay devised the Missouri compromise in 1820. 

Before California was admitted in 1850 the great leaders of 
the nation, Webster and Calhoun, Clay and Hayne, Chase and 
Toombs, Seward and Hunter, Sumner and Jefferson Davis, all 
had foreseen the impending struggle, the irrepressible conflict, 
and were scanning the horizon of the future with unrest and 
concern. 

Slavery had divided and antagonized the American people 
before Stephen A. Douglas invented the doctrine of popular 
sovereignty in 1854, to settle the Kansas-Nebraska imbroglio 
regarding the extension of slavery. 

Before Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated, so able a man 
even as Alexander H. Stephens, who had already accepted the 
vice-presidency of the Southern Confederacy, in a public speech 
at Savannah, Georgia, February 21, 1861, made the following 
declaration : 

"The prevailing idea entertained by Jefferson and most of 
the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old 
constitution was that the enslavement of the African was in 
violation of the laws of nature, that it was wrong in principle, 
socially, morally, politically. Our new government (the South- 
ern Confederacy), is founded upon exactly the opposite idea, 
its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great 
truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery 
— subordination to the superior race — is the natural and nor- 
mal condition." 

Slavery had blinded the conscience of half a nation of Ameri- 
can citizens; and slavery declared war when Beauregard fired 
on Fort Sumter, although the south still contends, as in 1861, 
that their people were patriotically defending their homes and 
the rights they held sacred. 

Dr. Channing- was right when he wrote Daniel Webster that 
slavery was the calamity of the south, not its crime; that the 
north should share the burden of putting an end to it. The 



INTRODUCTION 15 

north did finally share in the burden, although not in the way 
suggested. It was only ended, if indeed the burden is yet ended, 
when the whole land was strewn with its wreckage. 

During the long, dark years of this mournful history, some 
other factors contributed powerful aid, notably the doctrine 
of states rights. Our forefathers had sought with passionate 
longing for escape from the wrongs and oppressions which 
had imbedded their fangs so relentlessly into all their past his- 
tory. Every form of authority was hateful to them, and the 
doctrine of states rights was a natural result. The theory of 
states rights as first enunciated by Jefferson, Madison and Mon- 
roe, proved later inadequate to the exigencies of the govern- 
ment, and was undergoing modification or abandonment, when 
later it was found to be a bulwark — the bulwark — of slavery; 
and the civil war was the logical result. 

These companion errors, slavery and states rights, had to be 
expiated in tears and blood, and north and south alike had to 
share in the burden of their obliteration. Thank God, slavery 
has vanished and the bulwark is no longer needed. We can 
all join in Grant's final prayer, "Let us have peace," a peace 
that shall abide and abide forever. 

The monuments we have dedicated, "emphasize in enduring 
form that the American people once had a cause of war, having 
its root in the very origin of the Republic, which they settled by 
an appeal to the sword without dishonor to either side. They 
mutely bear witness that it is impossible for another Ireland, or 
another Poland, to exist in America. They give expression to 
a national epic, the grandest and the noblest in the annals of 
time."* 

By the census of i860 Iowa had a population of six hundred 
and seventy-five thousand, of which number one hundred and six- 
teen thousand were subject to military duty, that is able-bodied 
men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. Our state, 
though not yet fifteen years old when the battle of Bull Run 
was fought, sent seventy-five thousand volunteers to fight the 
battle for the Union, more than one-fifth of whom were in their 
graves before the surrender at Appomattox. Iowa boys de- 
serted the farm and the school, hastened to the front and led 

*Col. Josiah Patterson, national Shiloh commission, "Ohio at Shiloh," page 199. 



16 INTRODUCTION 

the assault, shoulder to shoulder with the boys of Illinois, In- 
diana, Ohio and other neighboring states, on nearly every west- 
ern battlefield of the war from Wilson's Creek, Missouri, in 
1 86 1, to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1864. Their casualties in killed, 
wounded and missing at Shiloh, Vicksburg and Chattanooga, 
three typical battlefields of the west, all under the matchless 
leadership of that matchless leader, Ulysses S. Grant, aggre- 
gated the appalling sum of 4,646; six hundred and fifty-six of 
this number surrendered their lives in these heroic struggles. 

If we include Iowa's "victims of the barbarities at Anderson- 
ville" we must add the two hundred and fourteen sons of Iowa 
whose headstones stand in the adjoining national cemetery, in 
the midst of which is erected the beautiful Iowa monument, 
crowned with its pathetic mourner. There in the short space 
of thirteen months, from March i, 1864, to April i, 1865, 
12,912 weary souls took their flight, while their wasted and un- 
covered bodies were thrown into shallow ditches outside — practi- 
cally one thousand deaths per month. There were but forty- 
five deaths less among the 52,160 prisoners at Andersonville, 
than there were among the 175,811 Confederate prisoners in 
the twelve most noted Union prisons of the north, during the 
same period. 

Congress has established national military parks on five of 
the great battlefields of the war, two in the east, Gettysburg 
and Antietam, and three in the west, Chickamauga and Chat- 
tanooga, Shiloh and Vicksburg. 

Chickamauga and Chattanooga park was established in 
1890, and contains 7,000 acres. Shiloh park, embracing 3,600 
acres, was established in 1895 by a bill introduced by Iowa's 
brilliant congressman, David B. Henderson. The Vicksburg 
park, with an area of about 1,300 acres, was authorized in 
1899. The government has expended large sums of money 
in improving and beautifying these parks; has macadamized 
the old roads which passed through the fields when the battles 
were fought and established extensive new ones throughout 
the parks and leading to them. It has placed thereon many 
markers, monuments and cannon, and invited states — north 
and south — to place memorials for their respective organiza- 



INTRODUCTION 17 

tlons. Many northern states have already erected memorials 
in these parks, as have also a number of southern states. 

Since 1894 our state has appropriated money to mark the 
positions of Iowa regiments and place suitable memorial monu- 
ments and tablets on three of these historic fields of heroism 
and carnage and to erect a monument in the cemetery at Ander- 
sonville. Commissions were appointed and authorized to execute 
this work. 

The appropriations for the expense of the work were as fol- 
lows: 

Two for Shiloh, the first in 1896 and a second in 1902; total 
appropriation, $50,870.28. Two for Vicksburg, the first in 
1900, and the second in 1902; total appropriation, $152,- 
000.00. Two at Chattanooga, the first in 1894, and the second 
in 1902; total appropriation, $36,500.00. One at Anderson- 
ville, in 1904; appropriation $10,000.00. The total appro- 
priations aggregate $249,370.28. 

The work of these commissions had been done, and well done, 
when the Thirty-first General Assembly in 1906 provided for 
a joint dedication of Iowa's beautiful and imposing memorials 
by the several commissions on a single trip, their acceptance by 
the state through its governor, and their final transfer by him to 
the secretary of war. To pay the expenses of the commissioners 
and an Iowa military band an appropriation of $7,500 was 
made. 

Captain J. F. Merry, the genial general immigration agent 
of the Illinois Central railroad, chairman of the Vicksburg 
commission, arranged a round trip itinerary for the Iowa special 
train to convey the governor and members of his staff, the com- 
missioners and speakers. The low rate of one cent a mile was 
secured and advertised from all Iowa points to each of the four 
dedications and return. Also a one and a half cent rate for the 
round trip including the four dedications for all who desired to 
take it, and especially for members of the governor's and com- 
missioners' families, though never limited to them. For the 
convenience and comfort of these, a train of sleepers and diners 
was made up and named the "Governor's Special." 

Mon.— 2 



18 INTRODUCTION 

The special left Des Moines for Chicago at nine o'clock 
Monday night, November 12th, and on Tuesday morning at 
ten o'clock left Chicago on its journey through the south. 

PERSONNEL OF THE OFFICIAL PARTY. 

Governor and Mrs. A. B. Cummins, 

General and Mrs. W. H. Thrift, Des Moines, 

Colonel and Mrs. G. E. Logan, Des Moines, 

Colonel and Mrs. H. B. Hedge, Des Moines, 

Colonel and Mrs. A. A. Penquite, Colfax, 

Colonel Chas. E. Mitchell, Marion, 

Major Geo. M. Parker, Sac City, 

Secretary and Mrs. W. B. Martin, Des Moines, 

Treasurer G. S. Gilbertson, Forest City, 

Judge G. S. Robinson, Sioux City, 

Hon. and Mrs. Chas. Aldrich, Boone, 

Hon. H. W. Byers, Harlan, 

Mr. and Mrs. T. E. McCurdy, Hazelton, 

Senator John Hughes, Williamsburg, 

Senator and Mrs. S. H. Harper, Ottumwa, 

Senator and Mrs. M. W. Harmon, Independence, 

Hon. W. V. Wilcox, Des Moines, 

Judge Jesse Miller, Des Moines, 

Hon. B. Murphy, Vinton, 

Hon. G. H. Ragsdale, Des Moines, 

John Briar, Des Moines, 

Edwin P. Peterson, Des Moines, 

Wm. Coalson, Des Moines, 

Captain and Mrs. J. F. Merry, Manchester, 

Judge L. C. Blanchard, Oskaloosa, 

Senator J. A. Fitchpatrick, Nevada, 

Hon. and Mrs. E. J. C. Bealer, Cedar Rapids, 

David A. Haggard, Algona, 

Hon. W. O. Mitchell, Kansas City, Mo. 

W. H. C. Jacques, Ottumwa, 

Colonel H. H. Rood, Mt. Vernon, 

Captain J. H. Dean, Des Moines, 

Colonel Chas. A. Clark, Cedar Rapids, 



INTRODUCTION 19 

Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie, Des Moines, 

Major S. H. M. Byers, Des Moines, 

Captain and Mrs. J. A. Brewer, Des Moines, 

Secretary Daniel C. Bishard, Altoona, 

Mr. and Mrs. M. V. B. Evans, Beaman, 

Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Tompkins, Clear Lake, 

Rev. and Mrs. S. H. Hedrix, Allerton, 

Captain J. A. Young, Washington, 

Colonel Alonzo Abemethy, Osage, 

Dr. T. C. Alexander, Oakland, 

Captain E. B. Bascom, Lansing, 

Colonel A. J. Miller, Oxford, 

Hon. Mahlon Head, Jefferson, 

Miss Rena Head, Jefferson, 

Mr. and Mrs. F. P. Spencer, Randolph, 

Major J. D. Fegan, Clinton, 

Captain Frank Critz, Riverside, 

Superintendent S. B. Humbert, Cedar Falls, 

Mr. Elliott Frazier, Morning Sun, 

Major R. D. Cramer, Memphis, Mo., 

E. E. Alexander, Oakland, 

H. S. Young, Winfield, 

Colonel W. B. Bell, Washington, 

Mrs. Hervey Bell, Washington, 

Miss Cora Bell, Washington, 

Colonel and Mrs. Geo. W. Crosley, Webster City, 

Captain and Mrs. John Hayes, Red Oak, 

Miss Mary F. Hayes, Red Oak, 

Colonel G. L. Godfrey, Des Moines, 

Judge R. G. Reiniger, Charles City, 

Captain Geo. W. Morgridge, Muscatine, 

Captain and Mrs. C. W. Kepler, Mt. Vernon, 

Captain and Mrs. Daniel Matson, Mediapolis, 

James W. Carson, Woodbum, 

Mr. and Mrs. Asa Turner, Farrar, 

General James B. Weaver, Colfax, 

H^n. N. E. Kendall, Albia, 



20 INTRODUCTION 

Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Alger, Villisca, 

W. H. H. Asbury, Ottumwa, 

S. W. Baker, Des Moines, 

A. Biggs, Anita, 

W. S. Browning, Winfield, 

J. F. G. Cold, Gladbrook, 

John G. Farmer, Cedar Rapids, 

Mr. and Mrs. Finlayson, Grundy Center, 

Spencer Frink, Tipton, 

Mr. and Mrs. John M. Grimm, Cedar Rapids, 

Donald Grimm, Cedar Rapids, 

Miss Anna Grimm, Cedar Rapids, 

Miss Anna Smouse, Cedar Rapids, 

Mrs. O. F. Higbee, Mediapolis, 

F. M. Hubbell, Des Moines, 
Mrs. W. G. Kiefer, Hazelton, 
Andrew Macumber, Winterset, 
W. H. Miller, Tipton, 

G. W. Miller, Independence, 

Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Moore, Wellman, 

H. W. Parker, Des Moines, 

John Rath, Ackley, 

A. C. Reeder, Tipton, 

J. A. Reeder, Tipton, 

Frank Rieman, Altoona, 

C. W. Reynolds, Grundy Center, 

J. G. Rounds, Des Moines, 

S. H. Rounds, Cedar Falls, 

E. A. Sherman, Cedar Rapids, 

Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Snyder, Cedar Falls, 

H. L. Spencer, Oskaloosa, 

T. P. Spilman, Ottumwa, 

H. D. Thompson, Des Moines, 

J. F. Traer, Vinton, 

C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, 

Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Willcox, Wellman, 

W. G. Wood, Albia, 

W. A. Wood, Ottumwa. 



INTRODUCTION 21 

Band. 

Geo. W. Landers, Leader, William Bashaw, S. M. Haley, 
William Beckman, Paul Schaeffer, J. E. Wilkinson, L S. Shaf- 
fer, Forest Hammans, J. H. Grill, G. O. Riggs, W. A. How- 
land, C. M. Anderson, C. S. Crouthers, Charles Spayde, C. F. 
Pixley, Robert Dalziel, A. F. Whitney, William Dalziel, B. E. 
Meddig, John Dalziel, Wesley Rees, Charles Fuller, Elbert Pey- 
ton. 



VIGKSBURG 



INTRODUCTORY 



Captain J. F. Merry, chairman of the commission, proceeded 
to Vicksburg four days in advance of the date fixed for the dedi- 
cation of the Iowa monuments in order to complete the neces- 
sary preparations for that event. The official train arrived 
somewhat late on the morning of November fourteenth, and 
was met by Chairman Merry with a large number of carriages 
and other vehicles prepared to take the entire party on a drive 
through the national cemetery and along the investment lines. 
This enabled the visitors to see the beautiful cemetery, the 
monument erected therein in memory of the Twenty-fifth and 
Thirty-first Iowa; and beyond, the monuments of other com- 
mands, including those of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio and Illinois. The drive ended at the Baldwin's Ferry 
road and the whole party returned to the city. 

During the afternoon many took vehicles and visited special 
points upon the line of investment where their own commands 
had been engaged. 

As soon as the date for the dedication was fixed, the mayor 
and board of aldermen of Vicksburg, for themselves and for the 
citizens of Vicksburg, arranged to tender a reception in honor of 
Governor and Mrs. Vardaman, the members of the governor's 
staff and party; in honor of Governor and Mrs. Cummins, the 
members of his staff and party; in honor of Major General 
Grenville M. Dodge; and in honor of the Iowa Vicksburg park 
monument commission, the members of their party and friends. 
To this reception the citizens of Vicksburg and all northern 
visitors were cordially invited. The reception took place at 
eight o'clock in the evening, and proved a thoroughly delightful 
affair, the absence of Governor Vardaman on official business 
being the only flaw in the pleasure of the occasion. Throughout 
the evening music was furnished by the Fifty-fifth regimental 
band and punch was served by Vicksburg's charming women. 

The morning of the fifteenth was spent in sight-seeing and in 

(25) 



26 VICKSBURG 

visiting the national military park. In addition to those who 
came on the official train about one hundred and fifty survivors 
of the campaign and siege, together with their families, were 
present in the city to witness and take part in the dedicatory 
exercises. 

The procession to the park formed at one o'clock, headed by 
Captain D. A. Campbell, marshal of the day, and his aid, 
Captain R. E. Walne. Next came the Iowa Band in a float. 
Following came carriages containing Governors Vardaman and 
Cummins, General Stephen D. Lee, Colonel Charles A. Clark, 
the members of Governor Vardaman's staff and the staff of Gov- 
ernor Cummins; Captain W. T. Rigby, chairman of the national 
park commission; Colonel J. G. Everest, one of the national 
park commissioners; General John Kountz, secretary and his- 
torian of the national park commission; Major B. W. Griffith; 
General John W. Noble; General Grenville M. Dodge; General 
J. B. Weaver; the members of the Iowa commission, and many 
other prominent men and women. The procession was a long 
one, although it contained no military organizations. 

The trains carried hundreds of visitors to the scene of the 
dedication, and when the hour for the ceremonies arrived, there 
were two thousand or more people gathered about the pavilion 
which had been erected for the occasion. The platform was 
decorated in the national colors and provided with seats for 
the invited guests. In front and to the left of the platform was 
seated a chorus of one hundred Vicksburg school-children. 

The fact that Captain J. F. Merry, chairman of the Iowa 
Vicksburg commission, was the father of the Vicksburg national 
military park, and that Captain W. T. Rigby, chairman of the 
national Vicksburg park commission, was also a gallant Iowa 
soldier and most efficient executive officer, predisposed the citi- 
zens of Vicksburg to extend a hearty and cordial greeting to the 
representatives of the state who had come to dedicate their 
monuments upon this notable field. From the beginning to the 
close of the visit of the Iowa party, the citizens of Vicksburg 
extended to them an hospitable welcome as was attested by the 
profusely decorated homes all along the route of the procession 
to the state memorial. 



Exercises at the Dedication of the Iowa State 

Monument at Vicksburg, Mississippi, 

November 15, 1906 



1:30 P. M. 
Governor's Salute .... Warren Light Artillery 

of Vicksburg: 

Call to Order Captain J. F. Merry 

Chairman of the Commission 

Invocation Rev. Dr. A. L- Frisbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"Almighty God, who art over all men and over all nations, 
the Everlasting Truth and Righteousness and Fatherhood and 
Love: Accept, we beseech thee, our supplications, and grant 
us, we beseech thee, answers to our requests, teaching us how 
and what we ought to ask. Give us, we beseech thee, the 
spirit of reverent, obedient children, whose desire is to honor 
thee and thy truth, thy wisdom and thy law, helping us to 
understand the lessons that are written there for our instruction, 
so that we may avoid those things which might destroy harmony 
among us. 

"Bless us, we pray thee, as we meet here on this patriotic 
occasion. May we come with no spirit of vindictiveness, but 
with a spirit of brotherhood and good citizenship and love 
for our common country. We pray thee that we may have 
the spirit of peace and mutual regard, and that throughout 
our nation. In the days to come, there may be still that common 
respect and sacred confidence which shall hold us sacredly 
together. We remember the days of conflict and struggle, 
when there was so much misunderstanding and opposition and 
bitterness. We pray that thou wilt teach us, as a people, 
and guide us on to that prosperity for which we hope. May 
we fulfill our part. May we do It well. 

(27) 



28 VICKSBURG 

"We remember those who fell here. We cannot hallow nor 
consecrate this ground. We can only dedicate to the memory 
of the brave dead these monuments, which shall testify to their 
fidelity, their courage, their self-sacrifice, their loyalty to the 
principles in which they believed. 

"And now, while they rest so quietly about us, we pray that 
the great peace by which nations are blest may also fall upon 
us, and may be our permanent and blessed possession. 

"Hear us, help us and bless us. Bless us as a nation. Bless 
the president of the United States and those who are associated 
with him. Bless all of this convocation, these school children, 
those who bear middle life's burdens, and those of us who are 
advanced in years. Accept our thanks for thy multiplied good- 
ness. Hear us and bless us, and save the United States of 
America, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." 



Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

Secretary's Report .... Henry Harrison Rood 

Secretary of the Commission 

Governor Cummins: 

During the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, in 1902, the 
state of Iowa, ever generous toward the men who served in 
her commands during the civil war, appropriated one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars to erect monuments and tablets in 
the Vicksburg national military park, to commemorate the 
services of the thirty-two organizations which served in the cam- 
paign and siege of Vicksburg, March 29 — July 4, 1863. 

The act provided for the appointment of nine commissioners 
by the governor of the state to carry out its provisions. Acting 
by this authority you appointed on this commission the follow- 
ing persons: John F. Merry, Luclen C. Blanchard, Joseph A. 
Fitchpatrick, Elmer J. C. Bealer, David A. Haggard, William 
O. Mitchell, William H. C. Jacques, James H. Dean and 
Henry H. Rood. 

They met at Des Moines, May 21, 1902, and organized, 
electing Captain John F. Merry chairman, and Henry H. Rood 
secretary. 



VICKSBURG 29 

They present on this occasion a partial and condensed report, 
reserving until the completion and acceptance of all the monu- 
ments and tablets a full report to be made to you, and through 
you to the legislature of the state. 

In explanation of the dedication of the completed monuments 
and tablets before the entire number has been finished and ac- 
cepted, they state that they yielded to the pressure of their 
comrades for this earlier date because the passing years are 
thinning their ranks so rapidly that many of them would by 
death or the Infirmities of age be prevented from attending. 
They were actuated also by the fact that dedication at this 
date would make It possible for the state In one general Itinerary 
to dedicate her monuments on this and other fields at the same 
time. 

This commission entered upon Its duties Impressed with the 
responsibility of Its position. The wise expenditure of the 
large appropriation, the selection of such designs as would be 
approved by the state at large and by the survivors of those who 
served here, and fitly honor the gallant spirits who died here, 
appealed profoundly to the minds and hearts of its members. 

They looked also beyond the present to that time, now 
alas too near, when all who took part in the great struggle for 
the possession or defense of this stronghold shall have passed 
away, and sought to place here such memorials as would ap- 
peal powerfully to succeeding generations of a great, united 
and expanding country. 

In October, 1902, the full commission visited Washington, 
Richmond and Gettysburg, to study examples of memorial art 
to be seen there, and later a sub-committee visited New York 
and Boston for the same purpose, and to interview sculptors 
and select one for the state memorial. 

These investigations resulted in the selection of Henry Hud- 
son KItson, of Quincy, Massachusetts, as the sculptor, and the 
suggestion to him by the commission of the general features 
of the state memorial. He cordially approved of the general 
features of the design as giving an excellent opportunity to 
unite the skill of the architect, and the art of the sculptor. 
Mr. KItson selected Mr. Guy Lowell, of Boston, as the archi- 



30 VICKSBURG 

tect, and the present structure was finally decided upon and a 
contract was made with Mr. Kitson for its erection at a cost 
of one hundred thousand dollars. This contract was dated 
May 20, 1904, and because of the large amount of bronze work 
in the bas-reliefs and equestrian statue, he asked for four years' 
time for its completion. This will allow him until May 28, 
1908, to complete the work. 

The study of the many questions involved in the discharge 
of these duties, the selection and development of designs and 
their working out under the hands of architect, sculptor and 
workman has been an experience of absorbing interest, and has 
presented many and grave problems for decision; the final re- 
sult is left to a thoughtful and discriminating people. 

It is our duty to say, Governor Cummins, that during this 
period you have given to the work of the commission intel- 
ligent and earnest sympathy and support. 

The commission, and especially the secretary, is under great 
obligations to Captain W. T. Rigby, chairman of the Vicks- 
burg national military park commission, who from the time 
of the appointment of this commission up to the present has 
given them freely of his time and effort. His thorough knowl- 
edge of the park and of the history of the commands engaged 
here has enabled him to give us advice and information of 
very great value, and we take this opportunity to thank him 
therefor. 

After competitive investigation the contract for the thirteen 
battery, regimental and brigade monuments was let to Mr. 
Edmund H. Prior of Postville, Iowa, for the sum of twenty- 
eight thousand five hundred dollars; later five hundred dollars 
was added to increase the size of the Third Iowa infantry 
monument, it being the only single regimental monument. 

Mr. Prior submitted designs which harmonized fully with 
the design for the state memorial, giving the same style of 
architecture to all the monuments, and making the effect of 
the whole series harmonious and pleasing. Bronze tablets 
attached to these smaller monuments, give the names of the 
commanding officers, the losses sustained by each command, 
the number of the battery or regiment, its brigade, division 



VICKSBURG 31 

and corps, forming a complete battle history for the campaign 
of each. 

These thirteen monuments have been accepted by the commis- 
sion. The excellence of the material used, the beauty of the 
workmanship, and the accuracy of the setting has had the full 
approval of the commission. 

To further mark the positions and history of the Iowa 
troops, a contract for fifty-nine bronze tablets, to be set on 
substantial granite posts, was awarded after competition in de- 
sign and price to the Gorham Manufacturing company of 
Providence, Rhode Island, for seven thousand five hundred dol- 
lars. These mark camps, skirmish lines, the most advanced 
positions in assaults, and greatly aid in making the series of 
monuments and tablets give a full history of each command in 
the campaign. 

The fine proportions and exquisite beauty of these tablets 
will, it is believed, please all who examine them. The material 
used throughout in aU the monuments and tablets is granite 
(Barre), and United States standard bronze; the one the most 
indestructible material known to builders, the other equally 
enduring, lends itself under the hands of the skilled artist to 
forms of beauty and inspiration. 

The inscription on the state memorial is: 

"Iowa's Memorial to Her Soldiers Who Served in the Cam- 
paign and Siege of Vicksburg, March 29- 
July4, 1863." 

Between the stately doric columns of the state memorial 
six massive bronze tablets, four feet six inches by five feet six 
inches in size will be placed, depicting scenes in the progress 
of the campaign: — Grand Gulf (naval). Port Gibson, Jack- 
son, Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, Assault May twenty- 
second. When completed this noble structure of Greek archi- 
tecture, in its simplicity, its dignity and strength will fitly typify 
the American soldier of 1861-65. 

The six great bronze bas-reliefs present a series of pictures 
of the soldier in the supreme moment of battle; of such strength, 



32 VICKSBURG 

beauty and power, as will make them (we believe) famous in 
the world of art; fairly pulsating with intense energy and action, 
they will convey to later generations a clear conception of the 
heroism of the period, and of the dress, accoutrements and 
arms, of the men who, on these seamed and rugged hills, 
grappled in fierce conflict. 

It is the hope of this commission that here, in this national 
park, which now and for centuries to come will be the point of 
greatest historic interest upon the shores of the Father of 
Waters, the state of Iowa has erected a memorial which will 
appeal to the spirit of unity, of patriotism and of culture of a 
united and happy people. 



Music, "America" . . . Vicksburg School Children 

Unveiling of Monument . Miss Grace Kendrick Rigby 

Miss Blnora Stanton 
Miss Fenton Mitchie 
Miss Preston McNeily 

National Salute Warren Light Artillery 

of Vicksburg 

Music Fifty-fifth lov^a Regimental Band 

"Nearer, My God, to Thee" "Dixie" 

Presentation to Governor of Iowa, Captain J. P. Merry 

Chairman of the Commission 

Governor Cummins, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Some years after the memorable and amicable conference 
between General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee 
at Appomattox, when the question of establishing commemo- 
rative battlefield parks was being discussed, General Grant was 
heard to say that if any one of the events of the civil war was 
more worthy of commemoration than another, it was the cam- 
paign and siege of Vicksburg. No one acquainted with General 
Grant would charge him with selfish motives in giving expres- 
sion to such sentiments simply because Vicksburg was the place 
where he won his first great renown. It was simply because 
he was acquainted with every detail of that terrible conflict 
and appreciated then what so many have since, that the bravery 




J--::' Bjiit:,.:.k'I DiX: 'S7>J C 




BRIGADE MONUMENT ERECTED AT VICKSBURG 



VICKSBURG 33 

and the valor of every soldier who participated in the cam- 
paign and siege of Vicksburg, whether he wore the blue or 
the gray, was entitled to everlasting remembrance. Engaged 
in that campaign were 227 Confederate and 260 Federal or- 
ganizations, 32 of which were composed of men enlisted from 
the prairie homes of the new but intensely patriotic state of 
Iowa. We do not claim that Iowa soldiers were superior to 
all others, but we do insist upon this and all other occasions 
that they were the equal of any, and nowhere during the civil 
war was their bravery more conspicuous than in the assault on 
Vicksburg, May 22, 1863. Since that day of carnage, Iowa 
has increased in population until today it has more than 2,000,- 
000 of the happiest and most prosperous people on the face 
of the earth. Its commercial, industrial, educational and agri- 
cultural development has been phenomenal, but amid all these 
material changes the people of Iowa have never forgotten the 
part her troops had in making it possible for the Father of 
Waters to flow unvexed to the sea; and when the question of 
suitably commemorating their part in the battles that in 1863 
waged over these black walnut hills and through these seemingly 
bottomless valleys, there was throughout Iowa but one senti- 
ment, and that decidedly favorable to it. To the Hon. E. J. C. 
Bealer, a member of the Iowa legislature and now a member 
of the Vicksburg monument commission, is due the credit of 
introducing in the Iowa legislature during the session of 1902 
a bill for the appropriation of one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars to be expended in the construction of an Iowa state 
memorial, of Iowa regimental and battery monuments, and 
Iowa markers in the national military park at Vicksburg. 
That such a measure should have passed both houses without 
a dissenting voice and was promptly signed by His Excellency 
the Governor, who is with us on this occasion, indicates Iowa's 
loyalty to and her continued interest in her volunteer soldiers 
of the civil war. The commission appointed and charged with 
the patriotic duty of expending so large an amount of money 
realized to the fullest extent the responsibility this placed upon 
them. Mistakes may have been made, but if so they are trivial, 
and only such as are common to monument commissions every- 
M0D.-3 



34 VICKSBURG 

where. We are especially proud of our state memorial, the 
original conception of which was from the brain of our re- 
spected secretary, Colonel H. H. Rood. We confidently believe 
that when completed, Iowa will enjoy the distinction of having 
at Vicksburg the most artistic and beautiful commemorative me- 
morial ever constructed in any park in any country — showing 
clearly that the commission made no mistake in the selection of 
Mr. Henry Hudson Kitson as its artist. 

Our thirteen brigade, regimental and battery monuments 
bearing the inscription of Iowa's thirty-two commands engaged 
here in 1863, and our fifty-nine regimental and battery mark- 
ers, unlike others in this or any other park, are beautiful and 
suggestive. 

And now, as chairman of the Iowa Vicksburg monument 
commission, it becomes my duty and is my pleasure to present 
to you, Governor Cummins, for dedication, this beautiful but 
incomplete state memorial, and to present to you for dedication 
and for transfer to the United States the thirteen monuments 
and the fifty-nine markers to which I have referred. 



Governor Cummins was introduced by Captain J. F. 
Merry in the following" words: 

"It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you Governor 
Cummins of Iowa. He was not old enough to have a part in 
the civil war, but from the very moment that he was first 
inaugurated as governor, throughout the five years of his ad- 
ministration, he has never failed to do every thing in his power 
for the veterans of Iowa." 



Acceptance and Presentation to the United States 

Government Albert B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Governor Vardaman, Mr. President and members of the Vicks- 
burg monument commission, men of the war, both north and 
south, ladies and gentlemen: 
Speaking in behalf of the state of Iowa, I acknowledge with 



VICKSBURG 35 

deep gratitude the exceeding kindness and boundless hospitality 
of the people of Mississippi, and the gracious courtesy of the 
distinguished governor of the commonwealth, and the mayor 
of Vicksburg. We have been royally received, and the memory 
of the cordial welcome we have experienced will endure so 
long as the recollection of this visit continues. I beg to assure 
you, Governor, that if in the future, any company of men and 
women from your state shall find their way within the borders 
of Iowa, our homes and our hearts will open wide their doors 
for friends from Mississippi. 

The duty of reciting the story of the tragedy which, forty- 
three years ago, was enacted here and especially the honorable 
part which the sons of Iowa played in the mighty drama of the 
nation's life, is assigned to one far better equipped than I to 
relate its joys and its sorrows, its lights and its shadows, its 
glories and its significance. There is no memory vivid enough 
to recall the scene; there is no tongue eloquent enough to paint 
the picture upon which the eye rested during those vital days 
of the civil war. Words only mar the vision which these old 
men see when their eyelids fall, and their consciousness is il- 
luminated only by the light of recollection, as it gleams through 
nearly half a century of time. If only they were here, I would 
stand mute in the presence of memories so patriotic, so profound, 
and so pathetic. 

In 1 86 1, Iowa had a population of but little more than a 
half million souls. From the beginning to the end of the civil 
war, she sent nearly eighty thousand of her young men to the 
defense of their country. The war had barely passed its mid- 
way stage, on the fourth day of July, 1863, and yet in the siege 
of Vicksburg and the battles which are grouped in that event, 
she had twenty-eight regiments of infantry, two regiments of 
cavalry, and two batteries. Of these, four hundred and twenty- 
two heroic spirits here surrendered their lives; eighteen hundred 
and sixteen were wounded; and one hundred and ninety-five 
were captured. It is to commemorate the courage and the 
virtues of these soldiers, the dead and the living, that a grate- 
ful state has here erected and now dedicates to their immortal 
fame, these monuments. So long as granite can endure, and 



36 VICKSBURG 

bronze withstand the corroding touch of time, they will tell to 
succeeding generations the affection which Iowa feels for her 
heroes in the mightiest struggle known in the history of man- 
kind. 

I do not forget that I am speaking in the presence of men 
and the sons and brothers of men, who upon this blood-stained 
field opposed, with a courage never surpassed, the very men in 
whose honor I am here; but I remember that I am speaking 
to chivalrous southern men, whose hearts beat with loyalty to 
the Union and love for the old flag; who would fight for the 
one and die for the other as bravely and as willingly as patriots 
always fight and die for their country. Therefore, I know that 
candor without bitterness and free speech without prejudice can 
give no offense to them, and that I may venture without fear of 
embarrassment upon the expression of sentiments to which I 
must give voice if I would be honest with myself. 

The war of 1861 was fought, not to determine the status of 
the negro, but to establish the permanence of the Union. From 
the beginning of the Republic to the end of the war, a long line 
of distinguished statesmen (and they were not confined to the 
south) believed — honestly believed — that when any state ad- 
judged for herself that she had sufficient cause to withdraw 
from the Union, she might do so in peace, and in harmony with 
the constitution. On the other hand, an equally long line of 
renowned leaders believed — honestly believed — that there could 
be no peaceful disintegration of 'the Republic. It was inevitable 
from the first that, some time, the issue thus presented must be 
settled. In the very nature of things, there was but one arbiter 
for such a question. The battlefield was the only court that 
could render judgment upon an issue so vital and so funda- 
mental. 

It is not for me to debate the abstract justice involved m 
these differences of opinion. They were tried out in that last 
dreadful resort of passionate humanity, the perils of the camp, 
the fatigue of the march, and the awful shock of battle. The 
end came at last, after the north had called into the service 
more than two million seven hundred thousand men, and the 
south more than a million; after the lives of eight hundred 



VICKSBURG 37 

thousand of the gallant children of the Republic had been laid 
upon the altar of war, and twice the number had been smitten 
with wounds. With this sacrifice complete, the issue was de- 
cided once and forever, and history has approved the judgment 
and has engraved upon her eternal pages the award of mortal 
conflict. The Union is indestructible, unless overthrown by 
successful revolution. With this decision, the country, north 
and south, is, I believe, content. With it has come a greatness 
and a glory of free institutions of which the south is not less 
proud than the north. It has given to the American name a 
lustre brighter than any other the world around. It has given 
to the American nation a place in the forefront of the march 
of civilization. It has given to the American citizen a dignity 
unequalled among the people of the earth. It has given to the 
flag of our country the most exalted station among all the em- 
blems of sovereignty blown by the breeze or kissed by the sun. 
The integrity of the Union is priceless, and its inexhaustible 
blessings are treasured as lovingly and shared as perfectly by 
the people of the south as they are by the people of the north. 

In the region from which I come, there remains not a shadow 
of ill-feeling, not a vestige of bitterness, and we look upon 
the star that shines for Mississippi, in the azure field of Old 
Glory, with the same pride that fills our hearts when we see 
the radiance of the star that blazes for Massachusetts. We 
sing "The Star Spangled Banner," and then the strains of 
"Dixie" rise melodiously into the air. 

I have touched this subject, not for the purpose of dwelling 
upon it, but in order to make a distinction which I think ought 
to be made upon such an occasion. These monuments are 
not reared to commemorate an event; they are not reared in 
memory of a cause; they are not reared as evidences of a vic- 
tory. They are reared to commemorate the worth of the 
individual soldier, and upon the same ground on which they 
stand as everlasting tributes to the courage and heroism of Iowa 
soldiers, there will stand the monuments built to do like honor 
to like courage and heroism of the soldiers of the Confederate 
army. Side by side, the monuments of the north and of the 
south will lift their heads through all the ages, in loving com- 



38 VICKSBURG 

panionship, sacred to the memories of men who were willing 
to suffer and die for the thing which they believed to be right. 
In the judgment day of history, as well as in the judgment 
day of eternity, the motives of humanity are the tests of honor 
and salvation. Before these august tribunals. Grant and Lee, 
Sherman and Johnston, Sheridan and Jackson, and all the other 
noble spirits of the war, will stand as valiant commanders and 
followers who tried to do their duty, as God gave them light 
to see their duty ; and they will enter together the hallowed land 
reserved for those who live faithfully and die nobly. 

The greatness of a nation may depend upon the accident of 
strength and numbers, but the greatness of a man is not subject 
to the caprice of fortune. We have journeyed hither, there- 
fore, not so much to rejoice in the triumph of the war, as to 
testify our appreciation and prove our gratitude for the cou- 
rageous loyalty, the high character, the valorous deeds of the 
men who here bravely endured the extreme test of human pur- 
pose. We come to weave a garland about the memory of 
those who have gone beyond the river and to reverently salute 
those who are still in the land of the living. We, who enjoy 
the heritage of a citizenship bequeathed to us through their 
prowess in arms, can well pause a moment to pronounce a bene- 
diction upon the dead and sing praises in the ears of the living. 
What they did here, is written in the imperishable annals of 
the world and has become part of the civilization of mankind. 
In building these monuments, we contribute nothing to their 
fame, but we greatly add to our own power to serve our country 
with the same fidelity that distinguished them. 

Mr. President and gentlemen of the commission, I accept 
for our beloved state these monuments which you have erected, 
with care so loving, and supervision so scrupulous. You have 
performed the duty assigned to you with the utmost credit to 
yourselves and to the highest honor of your state. It has been, 
indeed with you, a labor of love, and you have carved into 
this granite and engraved upon this bronze the holiest affections 
of your hearts and the most sacred memories of your lives. I 
can only say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servants." 



3 o 




VICKSBURG 39 

As the governor of Iowa, I now dedicate these monuments 
to the holy purpose for which they have been established, to 
the honor of Iowa's soldiers in the battles and siege of Vicks- 
burg. I dedicate them as evidences of a patriotism so pure 
and true that succeeding generations may, as they pause to look 
upon them, learn how faithful, lovers of their country ought 
to be. 

And now, my dear friend, General Dodge, commissioned by 
the government of the United States to receive these monu- 
ments which Iowa has built for her soldiers engaged in the 
siege and battles of Vicksburg, I deliver them into your keep- 
ing. I am rejoiced to know that the government has selected 
you to take them from my hands. It is a proud moment when 
Iowa transfers these tributes of her love and affection to her 
most distinguished soldier. From now henceforth, the country 
for which some of these soldiers died and for which all of 
them suffered, will preserve and protect the offering which we 
now lay upon the altar of patriotism, and know that the spirit 
which renders homage to the men who heard and answered the 
call to duty in days gone by, will, should danger again be 
encountered, bring still greater hosts to the defense of the 
sovereignty of the flag and the perpetuity of free government. 



Captain J. F^. Merry, chairman of the commission: 

"You will all understand the joy that comes to every one of 
this commission when I say to you that of all the living men 
of the Federal army who participated in the civil war, there 
is not one whom we rejoice so much to have with us today as the 
man whom I now introduce. General Grenville M. Dodge." 



Acceptance for the United States Government 

General Grenville M. Dodge 

Representing the Secretary of War 

Governor Cummins: 

Other duties have prevented the secretary of war from being 
present here today to accept from your hands this magnificent 



40 VICKSBURG 

tribute of the state of Iowa to her soldiers taking part in the 
Vicksburg campaign. 

It is a great honor to be selected by the United States govern- 
ment to receive and accept the monuments from the state of 
Iowa. It is a greater pleasure and a greater satisfaction for me 
to perform this duty as a citizen of that state. It probably is 
known to most of you that I was not present in the campaigns 
in front of Vicksburg, and for that reason it is an additional 
honor and pleasure for me to accept on behalf of the govern- 
ment of the United States the monuments here erected by the 
state of Iowa. This I do, fully appreciating the patriotism of 
that state in erecting this beautiful and appropriate monument 
in memory and honor of the officers and soldiers of the state, 
who performed such brave and effective duties upon this field. 

It is a singular fact that while I had no command in this 
important campaign, I was assigned by General Grant to a 
command he held far more important to the success of his army, 
than an immediate command under him, and that in his recom- 
mendation for promotions after this battle I was placed first 
upon the list. 

It is remarkable that none of the promotions that General 
Grant recommended after the battle of Vicksburg were made 
by the government for nearly one year, except the promotion 
of General John A. Rawlins to be a brigadier general, and he 
received this promotion because he took General Grant's report 
in person to W^ashington and appeared before the cabinet. One 
would think after such a great and complete victory that his 
recommendations would receive some consideration. The fact 
is, one officer who was not in the campaign, was promoted, 
and General Grant entered his protest against that promotion, 
stating that "the officers he recommended, who were here In 
this battle were far superior and performed far more important 
duties than the person promoted, and should have received the 
government's consideration and reward." You will find In the 
war records where General Grant several times in the following 
year pressed the promotion of the officers he recommended at 
the fall of Vicksburg. Washington did not then seem to hav^e 



VICKSBURG 41 

fully appreciated Grant, and seemed loath to follow his sug- 
gestions. 

It was General Grant's intention that I should command a 
division in this campaign, but he changed his mind, and in a 
letter to me informed me that he had assigned me to com- 
mand two divisions at Corinth, Mississippi, fearing that Bragg 
might detach from his command a force and try to reach the 
Mississippi river north of Memphis, and in writing me in 
relation to this change of my command. Grant said he had 
assigned me to this duty because he knew I would stay there, 
which was a very pointed intimation to me that under no cir- 
cumstances was I to leave Corinth, no matter what force came 
against me, and as I read it today, it was not only a suggestion, 
but a compliment. 

As soon as Grant moved down the Mississippi, and placed 
his army on the levees he determined in his own mind that 
bold campaign to the south and rear of Vicksburg. Knowing 
he could not make it until the waters fell In April or May, he 
utilized the time and kept his troops busy in several plans for 
passing Vicksburg, or by using the Yazoo tributaries to make 
a landing to the north and east of Vicksburg. He had very 
little faith In these projects, although they tended to confuse 
the enemy and mislead them as to his real plan of campaign. 
He kept his own counsel as to this plan, knowing it would 
receive no support In Washington, but probably draw forth 
an order prohibiting it and also receive criticism from all mili- 
tary sources, as the plan was an absolute violation of all the 
rules and practices of war, as it virtually placed his entire com- 
mand at the mercy of the enemy, cutting loose from all the bases 
of support and supply, necessitating the taking with him of all 
the rations and ammunition he would use in the campaign. 
Nevertheless he never hesitated, though urged to abandon it by 
some of his ablest generals. Grant says he was Induced to 
adopt the plan first on account of the political situation which 
was threatening, the anti-war element having carried the elec- 
tions, and the Confederates were forcing our troops as far or 
farther north as when the war commenced. He knew that to 
abandon his campaign and to return to Memphis, the nearest 



42 VICKSBURG 

point from which he could make the campaign by land and 
have a base and railroad from it, would be very disheartening 
to the government and the people. Grant ran the batteries 
and landed his forces on the east side of the Mississippi, and 
faced the enemy with fewer men than they had, and in the 
entire campaign when he planted himself in the rear of Vicks- 
burg, he had only 43,000 men, while the enemy had 60,000. 
In comparison as to boldness, the total ignoring of all former 
practices of warfare, the accepting of the probability of nine 
chances of failure to one of success, this campaign has never 
been approached in its originality and the wonderful grasp of 
its possibilities and great success. Viewing it from this stand- 
point it cannot be compared to any other known campaign. 
After Vicksburg the Confederacy was doomed, and Gettysburg 
coming at the same time, lifted the nation from the slough of 
despondency to the highest point of hope, enthusiasm and cer- 
tainty of success. 

Another reason that governed Grant in making this cam- 
paign against all the recognized principles of warfare as taught 
and known at that time, I have never seen stated. When Gen- 
eral Grant made his first campaign against Vicksburg, as you 
all remember, the capture of all of his supplies at Holly Springs 
caused him to abandon that campaign and fall back to the line 
of the Memphis and Charleston railroad, and in this movement 
back his troops were forced to live off the country. General 
Grant was astonished to find how efficiently they were supphed 
from the sparsely settled country, and he said that if he had 
had the experience that his retreat gave him before he made it, 
that instead of retreating toward the Memphis and Charleston 
railroad he would have pushed his army on toward Jackson 
and Vicksburg, carrying out the original plan of campaign. 

In discussing this matter with him afterwards he made the 
statement that he had no doubt if no accident or any action of 
the enemy prevented his army from swinging into the rear of 
Vicksburg he knew he could supply it from the country through 
which he was moving until he reached some safe base, and I 
have no doubt in my mind but what the experience he received 
on the retreat from Grenada was one of the principal reasons 



VICKSBURG 43 

for his swinging his entire army to the rear of Vicksburg, cut- 
ting loose from his base of supplies and taking such chances. 
There is no doubt that this bold movement so deceived the 
enemy that it could only bring against our forces a portion, in- 
stead of the whole army, and thus enabled Grant to meet each 
force that came against him, defeating it and finally plant him- 
self in this city. 

There was one other reason that I think had great weight 
with him in this movement. When I first reported to General 
Grant and had command of the central division of the Missis- 
sippi, stretching from Columbus south, I was assigned to the 
duty of rebuilding the Mobile and Charleston railroad from Co- 
lumbus to Humboldt. In our campaign in Missouri I had con- 
siderable experience in the organization and handling of a 
secret service force within the enemy's lines. As soon as I 
reached Tennessee I raised a regiment of Tennesseeans which 
was known as the First Tennessee cavalry, and I utilized the 
men from that state to obtain information as to the enemy. My 
reports were made to General Quimby; they reached General 
Grant and they were pretty accurate. Everyone knows that 
the rumors of what the enemy has and does are always greatly 
exaggerated, and it was one of the rules and instructions that 
were given to these men, who went inside of the lines, to be 
careful and not exaggerate, so when their reports came and 
were sent to General Grant, they in time proved to be very 
accurate. His attention, he says, was attracted to them, and it 
was not long before he communicated with me and gave me full 
authority and full control of the secret service in his command. 

When making his first movement toward the Vicksburg 
campaign there had come into my lines a large number of Ala- 
bamians, loyal men, whom I organized into the First Alabama 
cavalry and through the utilizing of members of this regiment 
and through relatives who lived within the enemy's lines I was 
enabled to place a very efficient system of spies or secret service 
men at Jackson, Meridian, Selma, Montgomery and Atlanta. 
These men, who were thoroughly instructed how to count a 
company, a regiment, a brigade, a division and a corps, whether 
moving on foot or in cars, and who were also thoroughly in- 



44 VICKSBURG 

structed to give us nothing but facts, not rumors, so far as I 
know never failed us. Their reports generally reached me 
through some member of their family or the family of some 
member of the regiment. These reports were sent to General 
Grant, so that he knew at all times while he was on both cam- 
paigns pretty nearly any force that was facing him, and when he 
made his movement to the rear of Vicksburg, and after the bat- 
tles of Jackson, Champion Hill and Black River, when John- 
ston's army was forming to relieve the siege, these spies became 
of untold benefit to General Grant, because all movements from 
Bragg or any other Confederate force was promptly noted and 
reported, and General Grant was given information in plenty 
of time to bring to his aid sufficient forces to meet Johnston's 
command. 

If you go to the war record you will notice that Schofield, 
from the department of Missouri, sent Grant from his com- 
mand nearly all his organized troops. From the department of 
Arkansas, commanded by Steele, was sent Herron's division 
and later came the Ninth corps under Parke, all the way from 
Knoxville, so that Grant had organized under Sherman's com- 
mand a new army facing Johnston, and at all times it equalled 
in force the army Johnston had under him. 

I remember the reports that came to me and went afterward 
to Grant, Johnston's force did not exceed 20,000 to 35,000, 
while the reports that came from the enemy's lines, and general 
belief, was that Johnston had accumulated an army of some- 
thing like 60,000. 

The information thus obtained by Grant enabled him at ail 
times to be master of the situation, and therefore, to force his 
siege and carry out the plans of his campaign without any doubt 
in his own mind that he was able to meet any force in his front 
or in his rear. These spies had instructions that when anything 
of great importance occurred and it would take too long to 
reach me, they should proceed directly and report to General 
Grant. In two or three cases they did this. In one case one 
spy was captured and imprisoned and two others in trying to 
reach him were killed. Many of these spies were detailed from 
our own regiments, and they took their lives in their hands and 



* "" • a 9 <« 

* S 5 9> 
9 >• 




VICKSBURG 45 

entered the enemy's lines, sometimes joining the Confederate 
regiments. Many of them were killed, many captured, tried 
and executed, and the experiences and reports that came to us 
from them were more daring and startling and far more inter- 
esting than any romance that was ever written. 

General Grant said afterwards that the value of this infor- 
mation to him in the campaign none could overestimate. It 
was always intended that none of the reports of these spies 
should ever go into the army records. Their names were never 
known to anyone except myself, but occasionally as you read 
the war records, you will see some of these reports, giving infor- 
mation forwarded by me. 

As the history of the war has been read and as shown in the 
war records, it has often been asked why it was that after every 
campaign of Grant's that his advice was not taken in following 
up the campaign immediately by another, especially when there 
were concentrated under him victorious armies ready to move 
successfully in any direction. 

After Donelson Grant desired to move directly south, and 
says that with his army and the army of Buell combined, they 
could have moved directly south to Vicksburg and opened the 
Mississippi river. After Corinth there was again an army of 
100,000 men concentrated there, that could have moved to any 
part of the west successfully and victoriously without great 
opposition. 

Right after the Vicksburg campaign General Grant proposed 
occupying the Rio Grande frontier, because the French had 
entered Mexico, and to use immediately the rest of his army 
to capture Mobile and move on Montgomery and Selma, Ala- 
bama, and perhaps Atlanta, Georgia, using the Alabama river 
from Mobile as a base to supply his column, but again his 
great victorious army was scattered. Parke with the Ninth 
corps was returned to east Tennessee, and Sherman with the 
Fifteenth corps was started from Memphis to march along the 
Memphis and Charleston railway to the Tennessee river, and up 
that river slowly, evidently for the purpose of being in position 
to aid Rosecrans in his campaign against Bragg. 



46 VICKSBURG 

In each case the armies were scattered and generally for six 
months or a year failed to accomplish any great work. Not 
until General Grant had assumed command of all the armies 
of the United States did they all move in unison. The great 
principle that he had often laid down was then put in force, 
and on the first day of May, 1864, every organized Federal 
force moved against the enemy in its front, so that under no cir- 
cumstances could the enemy as it had been in the habit of doing, 
transfer from one force to assist another, and thus throw a 
superior force against some one of our armies in active cam- 
paign, while the rest of our forces were lying idle. 

There is no doubt that the campaign of Vicksburg was the 
first blow that started and indicated to the Confederacy what 
the ultimate result would be. It was such a victory that there 
could be no possible excuse for their defeat, or under no circum- 
stance could they obtain any hope from it. Its results were 
far reaching; it was absolutely complete. The enemy surren- 
dered and the Mississippi river was opened throughout its 
entire length, never again closed, and the west half of the Con- 
federacy was split entirely in two, and from that time it was 
almost impossible for one part of it to re-enforce the other, and 
had the troops moved from Vicksburg, as recommended by 
Grant, directly on Mobile, captured that place, carried out the 
plans and ideas of Grant, that the Alabama river could be used 
as a base, and have captured Selma, Montgomery, and finally 
Atlanta, it would have gone far toward settling the question of 
the war in the west, and in all probability saved the great battles 
of Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Atlanta. 

General Grant during the time I served directly under him 
often spoke in praise of Iowa and Iowa troops. He designated 
the Second Iowa infantry as first at Donelson, and the Fourth 
Iowa infantry, the regiment I had the honor to once command, 
as first at Chickasaw Bayou. He reasoned that the efficiency of 
the Iowa soldiers came from the policy of the state in following 
almost literally the recommendations of the officers in the field 
when it came to replenishing their ranks and promoting and 
awarding her troops for their efficient work in the camp, on 
the march, or upon the field of battle. 



VICKSBURG 47 

This action of the governor of the state gave a confidence to 
the soldiers in the field and hope of promotion and an assurance 
that he would get it if he deserved it. As adding to the spirit 
and efliciency of their command, the benefit of this policy can- 
not be overestimated. 

To Governor Samuel R. Kirkwood is entitled the credit of 
inaugurating this system, and every Iowa officer and soldier who 
served in the civil war gratefully recognizes this service and 
extends his thanks and pays his tribute to that great war gov- 
ernor. 

General Grant's treatment of the Confederate troops at the 
surrender indicated a statesman as well as a great general. It 
gave him a standing with the Confederate army and people that 
no other commander had, and it not only met the universal 
approval of our armies, but tempered and softened afterwards 
the action of all our officers in the west who had dealings with 
the enemy. 

When peace came his action at Appomattox following his 
action here gave him an influence with the Confederate states 
and people that was a lasting benefit to our whole country and 
the southern soldier vies with us today in doing honor to his 
memory. 

I cannot close without paying my tribute to the sculptor, 
who under the direction of the Iowa commission, has conceived 
and erected this beautiful and appropriate monument. The 
thanks of your state are due to him for his successful work, and 
Iowa will stand on this field as the peer of the other states in 
the recognition she has given, not only to her dead, but to the 
living who took part in these great campaigns. 



Music Vicksburg School Children 

"The Star Spangled Banner" 

Captain J. P. Merry, chairman: 

"The Iowa commission regard it as a great distinction that 
we have with us today Governor James K. Vardaman, of 
Mississippi, who will now address you." 



48 VICKSBURG 

Address J. K. Vardaman 

Governor of Mississippi 

Governor Cummins, Mr. Chairman, Fellow Countrymen: 

The remarks that I shall make upon this occasion will neces- 
sarily be very brief. I come to you, my countrymen, com- 
missioned by the patriotic, loyal people of Mississippi, to 
place upon the brows of the beautiful women from Iowa the 
flowers of love and respect and to lay at the feet of our 
guests the choicest flowers of the most cordial hospitality in 
this greeting of welcome. 

I was not old enough, my fellow citizens, to participate in 
the memorable conflict which tried men's souls on this his- 
toric spot forty-five years ago, but I had a representative who 
gave the best there was in him to it, and I am here to join 
with you on this occasion to pay tribute of hospitality, ad- 
miration and love to him and his memory, as you are pleased 
to honor your heroic dead for what they did and suffered. 

I concur in the beautiful sentiment expressed by the great 
governor of Iowa when he said that in building that monument 
it is not your purpose to honor the men who fell upon this 
battlefield. You can not honor them. The man who died in 
defense of what he believed to be right, as God had given 
him to see the right — that man's cup, my countrymen, is 
full to overflowing. But you rather honor yourselves. You 
rear a monument more lasting than granite, more enduring 
than bronze, in the minds of the present generation and of 
posterity, the children yet to come, which shall live as long 
as heroism is a virtue, and the love of home and country 
and God animate the human heart. They are not dead. 

"They fell defeated, yet undying. 
Their names the very winds are sighing." 

I have often asked myself the question, when contemplating 
the scenes enacted nearly half a century ago upon this place, 
why was it necessary, why in the economy of God's providence 
was it necessary to sacrifice so much blood and so much treas- 
ure? Why could not the war have been avoided? I do not 



VICKSBURG 49 

know. It must have been right, because the poet tells us that 
"that which is, is right." There is another question that I 
ask myself frequently, and I have been unable to answer it. 
Why, forty-five years after the matter had been settled in 
that court of might, after the decision had been entered, and 
the arbitrament proclaimed to the world, why was it that men 
of the same blood and bone and flesh should, for all this time, 
have been standing and looking at each other, sneering and 
quarreling like wild beasts or dyspeptic children? It must be 
because we have not known each other. I am glad to see 
the people of Iowa here today. I want you to come to see 
us often and I know your sons will fall in love with our 
daughters, as I am sure we will fall in love with yours. 

You are right, sir, when you say that the people of the south 
are loyal to the stars and stripes. It is with infinite pride 
that we refer to the fact that a southern man wrote the Declara- 
tion of Independence; that a southern man made it possible 
for that flag to float triumphantly and command respect upon 
every sea and in every land beneath the sun. We were fight- 
ing it — or rather, my father and his comrades were fighting it — 
for a while, but when the stars and bars trailed in defeat on 
that fatal day at Appomattox, the Confederate soldier, the sons 
and daughters of the south, accepted the irrevocable decision. 
And there has not been one day, from that time to this, when 
we were not all ready to surrender our hves in defense of it. 

And I want to say another thing to you, my countrymen. 
We are not only true to the stars and stripes, but we are 
true to the ideals — the highest, loftiest ideals — of American 
citizenship, and if I would not be charged with a little immod- 
esty, I might say (I believe it) that the ark of the covenant of 
American institutions is in the keeping of and will be defended 
by the sons and daughters of the men who followed the for- 
tunes of the stars and bars to defeat at Appomattox. There 
were issues left here for us to consider which my friend Gover- 
nor Cummins has touched upon which I want you to think about. 
We not only lost greatly by this conflict; we not only suffered 
great destruction of property, but we lost by death a great many 
of our best and purest. I want to say to you. Governor, that 



50 VICKSBURG 

you made one mistake in the figures which you gave. Instead 
of having over one million men, we had only six hundred 
thousand. 

But I want to say in this connection that I do not care 
whether a man comes from the mountains of Vermont or 
from the hills of Massachusetts, or from the plains of Iowa 
or Illinois, if he is a thoroughbred American citizen, I do 
not care under what circumstances you find him, he is always 
patriotic. And when people talk to me about the solution 
of this great problem which you have left us here, I answer 
that a man who would give his life in defense of a sentiment, 
or a principle, if you please, as your comrades, as your hus- 
bands, as your sons and your brothers did here on this historic 
spot in 1863, when you shall know the truth about the situation 
here, you are going to respond like patriots with your ballots. 
These problems must be settled in love. They cannot be 
settled in hate. They must be settled by the generations yet 
to come. I mean by this that they must be settled by the 
third generation, and not by those who participated in that 
memorable conflict. I repeat, they must be settled in love, and 
not in hatred. 

But, my friends, I am reminded that it is now half past 
four o'clock, the sun is about to sink, and the orator of this 
occasion has yet to speak. Let me say to you again, that it 
affords us more than ordinary pleasure to have you with us. 
I am not extending you the conventional welcome as the offi- 
cial head of the state of Mississippi. It is not that. But 
speaking for every man, woman and child in this common- 
wealth, I say to you again, my countrymen, we are glad to 
have you here with us. If you men do not find here in Vicks- 
burg all that you want, if you will ask these people, I am 
sure they will give it to you. And if these ladies, who have 
accompanied your party, shall intimate to me that they want 
anything, I promise you that they shall have it, even if I 
have to call out the militia. 

I trust that your visit may be pleasant, and that as you 
go along on your itinerary you may see something more of 
the people of the south. I think they are the best people that 






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VICKSBURG 51 

I have ever known anything about — except the people of Iowa. 
When you return home, you will conclude that there is no 
more difference between the people of the south and the people 
of the north than there is between the people of the west and 
the people of the east. There is a great difference between 
the people who inhabit great cities and the people who dwell in 
the country. The fact is that about all the patriotism we 
have now is found in the rural districts. Patriotism is not 
bom between great sky-scraping buildings. You will find it 
along the lakes, and beneath the shadow of the mountain 
peaks. You will find it upon the great plains, and as I said 
a moment ago, those who come from that portion of the 
country are usually broad-gauged, patriotic American citizens. 
Our ideals and our hopes and our aspirations are similar. 
We are glad to have you here, my friends. I beg your pardon 
for taking so much time, but now let me say again that it 
affords us infinite pleasure to have you with us. May you 
enjoy every moment spent in this sunny southland, and return 
to your homes in safety and happiness, and enjoy that pros- 
perity to which loyal, patriotic American citizens arc entitled. 
God bless you. 



Music Vicksburg School Children 

"Dixie " 

Oration Colonel Charles A. Clark 

Department Commander Iowa G. A. R. 

"Manhood is the one unchanging thing 

Beneath life's changing sky; 
And where it lightens once, from age to age 
Men come to learn, in grateful pilgrimage 

That length of days is knowing when to die." 

On this historic field the lightnings of patriotic manhood il- 
lumined the skies of a great people engaged in deadly conflict. 
We come in grateful pilgrimages, from the north and from 
the south, to dedicate monuments to the heroism and valor of 
our countrymen who here laid down their lives. In deadly and 
bloody clutch they struggled through ensanguined weeks, one 



52 VICKSBURG 

dominated by patriotism for a perpetual Union, the other by 
patriotism for states of the Union engaged in efforts to 
organize a Confederacy which should endure until some of 
its component parts saw fit to set up a new government of their 
own. Each fought for the right as he saw the right, with a 
constancy and devotion only equalled by that of the other. 

This war was for the Union. The immortal Lincoln stated 
the issue fairly when he said: "Both parties deprecated war, 
but one of them would make war rather than let the nation 
survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it 
perish, and the war came; * * * neither anticipated that the 
cause of conflict might cease with or even before the 
conflict itself should cease." While the issue of war 
was pending both houses of congress passed a proposed 
constitutional amendment, and submitted it to the states for 
ratification, by which it was provided that the constitution 
itself should never be amended giving the general government 
jurisdiction over slavery. Lincoln in his inaugural distinctly 
accepted and endorsed this measure, saying it was already 
implied constitutional law. This would have made the in- 
stitution perpetual at the will of the states where it existed. 
The offer was rejected by the organization of the Confederacy 
as an independent government. Thereafter Fort Sumter was 
assailed and temporarily wrested from the national government, " 
and the war for the Union flamed up as naturally as our most 
inflammable substances burst into conflagration from a blazing 
torch hurled into their midst. Whoso hurled the torch, kindled 
the conflagration. 

In its very midst, and after torrents of blood had been shed, 
Lincoln refusing to be diverted from the primary purpose of 
the war, used these memorable words: 

"I would save the Union. I would save the Union without 
freeing any institution. The sooner the national authority can 
be restored, the nearest the Union will be 'the Union as it was.' 
If there be those who would not save the Union unless they 
could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. 
If there be those who would not save the Union unless they 
could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. 



VICKSBURG 53 

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and 
is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the 
Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save 
it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save 
it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do 
that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do 
because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, 
I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the 
Union. I shall do less whenever I shall beheve what I am doing 
hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe 
doing more will help the cause." 

His emancipation proclamation was made in pursuance of 
this avowed purpose and nothing else. He said, "I will keep 
the promise I have made to myself and my God," and he kept 
it. 

The destruction of slavery not only helped to save the 
Union, but it cleared the ground for the Union of today in 
which all interests of all sections are common and harmonious. 
Its existence was not chargeable to the south alone. The north 
tiad participated profitably in its estabhshment. Massachusetts, 
in the convention which framed the constitution, voted against 
prohibiting the slave trade prior to 1808, while Virginia voted 
for that prohibition. The crime was a national one, and its 
punishment fell upon all alike. If it did not fall upon all 
in equal measure, that was because it was the cause of the at- 
tempt to dissolve the Union, and it was found after patient 
■effort with eyes unblinded by the tears of awful afflictions, and 
with judgments untouched by the ghastly hecatombs of victims 
who were sacrificed for the Union with slavery intact, that 
the cause of the war against the Union was one of its chief 
supports, and that its destruction would in a large measure 
destroy resistance to the preservation of the Union. And so 
amid the horrors of war, by and through the horrors of war, 
in even hotter, fiercer and more deadly conflict, this national 
crime which had brought its curse upon all, was eradicated 
forevermore. Thank God that slavery is ended. In this a 
united country rejoices today, regardless of old controversies 
and strifes. The blue and the gray who sleep beneath this 



54 VICKSBURG 

scene of their deadly conflicts are alike honored by this con- 
summation. The one consciously, the other unconsciously, in 
an inevitable conflict, helped to work out the awful problem 
and to bring this blessing to the whole land. 

The conflict was inevitable. If we go back to the confed- 
eracy of the original thirteen states, we find that it was a 
mere rope of sand, where states voted and acted as states, with 
no executive head, and no form of authority for requiring 
obedience to its behests from any of its component parts. The 
constitution which declared the purpose of a "more perfect 
Union" was looked upon with distrust, north as well as south. 
Its ratification was hotly resisted, from fears of a centralized 
government. It was long in doubt in the empire state of 
New York, and never would have carried there but for the 
superhuman efforts of one man — Alexander Hamilton. Some of 
the northern states were the last to ratify, and then only be- 
cause the requisite number had already done so. From the 
first the right of a state to withdraw from the Union continued 
to be discussed both north and south. The conflict preceding 
the first election of Thomas Jefferson by the congress, and the 
methods in which it was sought to defeat the clearly expressed 
will of the people, put a great strain upon the government, 
while still in its experimental stage. A few years later the 
Hartford convention showed that the Union might be menaced 
by the north. The nullification measures of South Carolina 
were not abandoned because of the patriotic proclamations of 
Andrew Jackson, but because the congress gave South Caro- 
lina what she demanded. As the years went by the view of 
an inseparable Union developed more and more in the north, 
until the Union became entrenched in all hearts as a universal 
passion. The south drifted to the opposite view, and more 
and more held to the right of states to withdraw from the 
Union. Nothing was more certain than that at some time 
these opposing views and sentiments would come in conflict in 
the practical administration of the national government; and 
that, in the temper of both sides to the controversy, meant an 
inevitable appeal to arms. The hand of God has never been 
more manifest in the affairs of our common country than that 



VICKSBURG 55 

the conflict should have come when it did. Delay would have 
made the peril to the Union more deadly, and the result more 
doubtful. Even before peace came from the long years of 
bloodshed and woe, the repeating rifle had become a practical 
arm, and modern artillery followed close upon its heels. The 
Union could only be defended by an offensive war, and the 
brave Confederates fought mainly upon the defensive. Modern 
arms and artillery would have increased their defensive power 
more than a hundred fold. The survivors of the Union armies 
know that the result was doubtful enough without the addition 
of this tremendous factor which might have turned the scale 
the other way. The frenzy which thrust the war upon us in 
1 86 1, was, under the providence of God, the salvation of the 
Union in the arbitrament of battle to which it must have come 
at last, as certainly as effect follows cause in all human affairs. 

Let us be just to ourselves, then, and accept what history must 
record as the very essence of the conflict. The war was a war 
for the Union. There was room for honest differences of opin- 
ion and belief as to the right of states to withdraw from the 
Union. To be mistaken was human and not humiliation. 

The people of the Confederate States honestly believed in 
that right, and asserted it upon what they honestly believed to 
be just and sufficient grounds. With high and fervent loyalty 
and patriotism for the government they had set up, they fought 
with a courage and desperation of which none but American 
freemen are capable. They failed from sheer exhaustion before 
superior resources and numbers. Under the hand of God our 
magnificent national domain could only be developed and 
brought to its best by unshackled hands and unshackled minds 
of free men, and the blessings of American citizenship under 
one government and one flag. The defeat of the Confederate 
armies was not subjugation to debased or inferior conditions, 
else we should never have succeeded against our own race and 
our own brethern who fought with such transports of heroism 
and valor. It was the paradox of all history. It was rescue by 
military power, to elevation, and to the very blessings which 
we sought for ourselves and for the children's children of our 
brave adversaries no less than for our own. 



56 VICKSBURG 

The Union was not to be destroyed. The war for its preser- 
vation was almost a holy crusade. It was waged, not for sub- 
jugation nor vengeance, but that those who fought against the 
Union might enjoy the same rights, liberties and blessings within 
it as those who fought for it. It was waged for the common 
welfare and the common safety of all. The destruction of the 
Union would have been the greatest crime of the ages. It 
would have been a deadly blow to self-government in America 
and in the world. It would have established the right to de- 
stroy a Union framed by all, at the will of a fragment, and 
the right of further sub-division at the will of other fragments, 
until chaos was substituted for order, and self-annihilation for 
the liberty, safety, and happiness of all, in which all had an equal 
voice. Deep was this conviction in the hearts of those who 
fought for the Union, and of those who supported the cause of 
the Union. They could say with Webster, "I have not ac- 
customed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see 
whether with my short sight I can fathom the depths of the 
abyss below." They defended the abyss, equally refusing to be 
hurled into its yawning jaws, and to allow their misguided 
fellow countrymen to hurl themselves to destruction there. 
With many and varying fortunes, through years of unparalleled 
war, they forced the lines of battle ever farther from the fatal 
gulf until it closed behind them as peace dawned upon their 
battle-torn front. The gulf will not re-open ; the wounds of war 
are healed; we are one people, one country, one grand and 
inseparable Union. Thank God for that! 

Around these heights, in wild and bloody fury burst the 
storm of that war which made the Union what it is today. It 
was the culmination of a brilliant and successful campaign of 
the Union armies. Grant had abandoned his base of supplies, 
plunged into a hostile country, divided and in detail defeated 
the Confederate forces, and from the rear hurled his army, a 
tremendous thunderbolt of war, upon doomed and fated Vicks- 
burg. In nineteen days, and with five days' rations, he fought 
five triumphant battles, always with superior numbers under 
his banners; he marched one hundred and eighty miles, inces- 
santly skirmishing through a country abounding in defensive 




Front and west end vieiv before restoration 




Front and west end view after restoration 



THE SHIRLEY HOUSE 
A noted landmark within the Union lines at Vicksburg 



VICKSBURG 57 

positions, until he stood with his army before fortifications 
which frowned where we stand today, and in successive assaults 
learned that their heroic defenders could roll back in bloody 
repulse even his victorious veterans. An Iowa regiment, the 
Twenty-second infantry, sustained the greatest loss on that 
bloody day. It effected a lodgment upon a salient and for some 
hours floated its flag from that hostile rampart. A squad of 
twenty heroes from its ranks entered the hotly defended angle, 
and of these only two returned alive. A large percentage of all 
the men it took in action went down in desperate conflict. A 
congressional medal of honor was awarded its color-bearer for 
his heroism. The devoted patriotism with which these men 
fought and died for their country is worthy to be treasured as a 
memorial on this occasion and for all timiC. 

The story of the siege which followed need not be narrated 
in detail. The population of the city lived in caves. 
Beautiful and delicately nurtured women endured with- 
out a murmur every form of privation and hardship, 
including hunger and famine. Their wailings over their dead 
amid such scenes of horror is one of the most awful pictures of 
war, to be contemplated only with tears after all the years that 
are gone. Heroic assailants and heroic defenders matched each 
other in deeds of daring and valor, through culminating horrors 
which moved to an Inevitable end. The rations of the besieged 
were reduced and tobacco in some measure took the place of 
meat. Their exhausting labors knew no respite. They were 
exposed, in the words of General Pemberton, to "burning suns, 
drenching rains, damp fogs and heavy dews." The besiegers, 
unused to the rigors of a southern mid-summer climate, suffered 
in greater degree from the same blistering suns, fogs, dews, and 
from pestilential and noxious vapors. Fell disease laid Its hand 
upon them. With tremendous and patient labor they pushed 
forward their approaches under a deadly and destructive fire 
from their decimated, hungry and gaunt, but sleepless and vigi- 
lant adversaries. On both sides It was a very delirium and 
nightmare of valor and incredible endurance. The end came 
on the anniversary of the birthday of American liberty and 
independence. It was honorable to both sides alike, and showed 



58 VICKSBURG 

that the spirit of the day remained an unconquerable force in 
the proud and defiant natures of both the victor and the honor- 
ably paroled. 

Grant's losses in battle during the campaign and siege aggre- 
gated nearly ten thousand men. There is no record of his losses 
from death and disability through exposure, hardship and dis- 
ease, in the hospital, on the march, in the trenches, and in camp, 
but they were inevitably greater than his losses from bullets, 
and it is not improbable that the twenty-nine thousand sick, 
wounded, famished and enfeebled men surrendered by Pember- 
ton, had cost the Union commander an equal number of men 
from his own ranks. One-sixth of this entire loss had fallen 
upon thirty-two Iowa organizations who had been actors in this 
great drama of exalted heroism, and in whose memory Iowa 
today dedicates monuments which the skill of man can not make 
as imperishable as their fame and glory. 

Here, through their endurance and valor, in common with 
those who fought with them for one country and one flag, the 
tide of war was turned in favor of the Union in the west, as 
Gettysburg turned the tide in the east, and from that day the 
fate of disunion was sealed. 

Let history have its due. It is idle to avoid the question, 
was there a right in that prolonged and bloody conflict? We 
have called it the War of the Rebellion; we have called it the 
Civil War; Grant, in his memoirs, called it the War between, 
the States. The growth of fraternal feeling, and a broader 
view, have convinced all that the first designation is neither ju 
nor appropriate; the second is unmeaning; the third indicates 
nothing as to the issues involved, and besides, in five border 
states it was not war between the states, but war within the states 
— war of the most dreadful and deplorable type — and so "War 
between the States" is inaccurate and misleading. It was a 
War for the Union which was forced upon Lincoln and upon 
the government which he was sworn to uphold. It was a War 
for the Union which was waged and which triumphed, and 
never until that name is adopted will its very essence and mean- 
ing stand forth in the designation of the terrible crisis itself. 
Adopt that name and let those who will argue that war for the 



VICKSBURG 59 

Union was wrong, and war for disunion was right, or that each 
were equally right, because of honest belief on the part of those 
who sought to rend the country in twain. Mutual regard and 
fraternity under the old flag and in an inseparable Union whose 
blessings all enjoy, and for which all now march to battle with 
equal courage and ardor, have brought the grand fruition for 
which the Union soldier, here and elsewhere, struggled, and 
suffered and died, but they have brought no palliative, and can 
bring none upon this one central and tremendous question. The 
War for the Union was right; the war for disunion was wrong. 
To say less than this would be treason to the motives and memo- 
ries of those who here, and on nearly two thousand other fields 
of battle, laid down their lives for the Union, no less than to 
the name and fame of the immortal Lincoln, and all of the 
mighty ones who served under and around him in the terrible 
and decisive era of American history. 

I have not now, and never had, any but the most profound 
admiration for the spirit of heroism with which the Confeder- 
ates fought us to the very verge of annihilation, and from the 
very depths of despair. This same sublime spirit, undaunted 
by disaster, undismayed in defeat, the common heritage thank 
God, of all Americans, has made the south and the nation what 
it is today. The very intensity and duration of the struggle, the 
torrents of the best blood of a noble people which were shed, 
brought the most dreadful ills upon the unsuccessful. Their 
industrial system was overthrown and paralyzed, presenting 
problems well nigh insoluble. Their homes were impoverished 
and filled with mourning and despair. They were not fitted 
by habit or training for the hard labors and painful frugalities 
which, practiced for generations, had laid the foundations of 
assured prosperity in the north, and which were now thrust upon 
them for the first time under conditions of exceptional severity. 
If Abraham Lincoln, that most marvelous man in all history 
for eighteen centuries, had lived, his God-like patience, tender 
sympathies, and great heart which throbbed for all humanity, 
might have found a way to mitigate and ameliorate the horrors 
which war had left to them as its frightful legacy. But he was 
struck down by the hand of an insane assassin, and a new horror 



60 VICKSBURG 

was added where a divine spirit might have done its beneficent 
work. To all this was added military rule, very likely of longer 
and harsher duration than was necessary, and to military rule 
succeeded temporary governments, plundering an impoverished 
people until the forms of taxation and super-imposed public 
indebtedness amounted well-nigh to universal confiscation. In- 
creased alienation and bitterness were the wretched fruitage of 
these years. Could anything be added to such a lengthened 
catalogue of miseries? There is no higher testimony to 
American citizenship under a free government than that the 
southern people in less than a single generation, led by the sur- 
vivors of the War for the Union, should have surmounted all 
these difiiculties and most grievous afflictions, and have become 
prosperous and happy; that these should have made the new 
Union against which they fought a new source of honor and 
pride; that from such depths of impoverishment and sorrow 
they should have achieved success, and amelioration, if not the 
full surcease of their woes; and that in war with a foreign foe, 
they should have marched and fought under the old flag to 
glorious victory, commanded by their old leaders, Generals 
Wheeler and Fitzhugh Lee. Tell me where in history the like 
of this has been seen, and you will but recite another tale of 
marvelous triumph over ills, which will thrill the hearts of all 
men so long as they throb more quickly over the grandest and 
best achievements of our race. 

The men who wore the blue fought for a Union in which 
such constancy and endeavors on the part of their fellow 
countrymen might work out by peaceful methods results which 
shed new luster on American manhood. For four years, which 
seemed endless in their gloomy lapse, the Union soldiers, along 
a firing line of fifteen hundred miles faced incessant and deadly 
warfare. They fought in one hundred and twelve battles, in 
eighteen hundred and eighty-two general engagements, battles, 
skirmishes and affairs in which at least one regiment was en- 
gaged. This was one for every day of the war, with four hun- 
dred remaining. It is literally true that there was no day of 
the war when men were not falling by the bullets of their ad- 
versaries, and there was no hour of the war when the sound of 



VICKSBURG 61 

musketry was not heard. The official records show that one 
hundred ten thousand and seventy Union men, and seventy- 
four thousand seven hundred and sixty-four Confederates were 
killed or mortally wounded in this ceaseless fusillade. There 
are no records of Confederate deaths during the last weeks of 
the war, and it is safe to place their total at ninety thousand 
men, or more than two hundred thousand men on both sides 
killed in action. The recorded Union loss from disease and 
other like causes was two hundred fifty-four thousand, 
seven hundred and thirty-eight; that of the Confederates, so far 
as known, fifty-nine thousand two hundred and ninety-seven 
and this does not tell half the dreadful story as to them, making 
a total on both sides from these causes, of three hundred 
fourteen thousand and thirty-five, which added to deaths in 
battle makes the grand total of five hundred fourteen thou- 
sand and thirty-five — more than half a million of known deaths 
of fellow countrymen in this phantasmagoria of blood. The 
unrecorded deaths from the effects of the war can only be con- 
jectured, but they surely aggregate other hundreds of thousands, 
and the ghastly total staggers all sober imagination. 

Through all this the Union soldier did not falter. His love 
of country sustained and led him on. The pages of all history 
recorded nothing grander than his devotion to the Union and 
the preservation of its liberties and blessings for his fellow 
countrymen through the ages to come. That devotion has 
given us the Union as we have it today, mighty and powerful, 
prosperous and happy, the hope of mankind in every clime, 
standing foremost among the nations, with its friendship and 
moral support more valued than offensive and defensive alliance 
of the most solemn character with kings, emperors or czar. 

It was the Union soldier In the ranks who wrought this 
mighty work under leaders whose fame and glory are assured. 
He, and his no less gallant adversary, gave us the heroic era of 
American history to which future generations will look back 
as their most glorious heritage. The mighty shades of the 
great ones who move in stately procession across the stage of 
history were the witnesses of his achievements and are illustrious 
because he did not fail. In saving the Union he kindled a 



62 VICKSBURG 

beacon fire on the mountain-tops of human endeavor which to- 
day lights the world with its refulgence, and will throw its 
benign light adown the long vista of applauding ages to come. 
He stands the type of noble and unfaltering American man- 
hood, who, in conflict with his no less heroic fellow countrymen, 
settled the right of the Union to endure "one and inseparable, 
now and forever." His name as an individual will not long 
endure. Already the waters of oblivion take hold upon his 
feet, and in the not distant future, of all who suffered and 
fought and died in that terrific death-clutch, only the names of 
the great leaders and commanders will remain. But his deeds 
of matchless heroism, of desperate daring, of sublime devotion, 
of unconquerable determination, made sacred by such endless 
thousands who laid their lives as sacrifices upon the altars of 
their country, can never fade from the illumined pages of 
history. To the sacred memories of these men, thousands of 
whom here struggled and suffered and died, Iowa dedicates her 
monuments of bronze and marble today. Mighty were their 
deeds, untarnished is their fame, imperishable is their renown. 
They have earned the gratitude of their countrymen and of pos- 
terity and a place in the halls of the immortals. They will feel 
their own fame more secure to know that their adversaries are 
honored in like manner. All sleep or will sleep in the soil 
of a common and united country. The deeds of all will mingle 
in the common fame of American freemen, as the fraternal senti- 
ments of this hour mingle in honoring the dead of those who 
here gave their lives for the right as they saw the right. The 
glory due to each but adds new luster te the glory of the other. 

"By the flow of the inland river. 

Whence the fleets of iron have fled, 
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, ■ 

Asleep are the ranks of the dead ; 
Under the sod and the dew. 

Waiting the Judgment Day ; 
Under the one, the Blue ; 

Under the other, the Gray." 




BATTERY MONUMENT ERECTED AT VICKSBURG 



VICKSBURG 63 

"No more shall the war-cry sever, 

Or the winding rivers be red ; 
They banish our anger forever 

When they laurel the graves of our dead ! 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the Judgment Day: 
Love and tears for the Blue ; 

Tears and love for the Gray." 



Captain J. F^. Merry, chairman: 

"We have in Iowa a poet of national reputation, and he has 
prepared a poem especially for this occasion: Major S. H. M. 
Byers." 



Poem, " Vicksburg " .... Major S. H. M. Byers 

Part 1. "Running the Batteries" 
Part 2. "Where Are They All Today" 



VICKSBURG 



By S. H. M. Byers. 



PART I. 

RUNNING THE BATTERIES. 

Would you like to know how the thing was done, 
How the Vicksburg batteries all were run, 
Four miles of sulphur, and roar of gun. 
That Grant's great army far below 
Might cross the river, and fight the foe ? 

Not a single boat had he anywhere, 

Nor barge, nor raft, that could dare to try 
The mighty stream that was rolling by. 



64 



VICKSBURG 

And between his troops and our fleet up there 
Were the Vicksburg batteries everywhere — 
Four miles of cannon and breastworks strong 
Stretching the whole dread way along. 

There was not a hill, nor a hollow then 
But had its guns and its hundred men 

To guard the river, and once, they say, 
A Federal gunboat tried to go 
From the fleet above to the troops below — 
But it hailed and rained and it thundered so 

Of cannon, and grapeshot all the way. 

That the captain said to his dying day — 
Whenever the talk on Vicksburg fell — 
"He traveled that night four miles of hell." 
Now this is the thing we had to try, 

We who were soldiers, not sailors, mark, 
To run three Federal steamboats by 

The river batteries in the dark. 

'Twas in Sixty-three, and an April night; 

Soft, and cloudy, and half in sight 

Was the edge of the moon, just going down, 
Into the canebrakes dark and brown, 

As if it did not care to know 

What thing might happen that night below. 

Out on the river three steamers ride, 
Moored on the breast of the sweeping tide. 

Lashed to the side of each steamer lay 

River barges with bales of hay. 
And bales of cotton that soldiers knew 
Never a cannon had yet shot through. 

In the half-lit hold of each waiting ship 

Not a sound is heard from human lip. 
Yet a dozen soldiers there grimly stand — 
And they know the work they have in hand. 



VICKSBURG 65 

Theirs, when bellows the cannonade, 

And holes in the sides of the ship are made, 

With boards, and cotton, and giinny-sack 

To keep the rush of the waters back; 
Theirs, no matter if all should drown, 
To keep the vessels from going down — 

For all Grant's army will hold its breath 

Till the forts are passed or they meet their death. 

'Tis ten o'clock by the watch and more — 

Sudden, a lantern swings on shore — 

'Tis the signal — "Start — lift anchor men," 
And a hundred hearts beat quicker then. 
And six great gunboats pass ahead — 
They will give the batteries lead for lead. 

Ten and a half — the moment nears. 

No sound of sail, or spars — 
The listening pilot almost hears 

The music of the stars. 

"Lift anchor men" — the silent few 
Down the dark river glide — 
God help them now as swift into 
The lane of death they ride. 

They round the bend, some river guard 

Has heard the waters plash. 
And through the darkness heavenward 

There is a lightning's flash. 

A sudden boom across our path, 

A sullen sound is flung — 
And we have waked the lion's wrath, 

And stirred the lion's young. 

/• ■ 

It was only a gun on the hills we heard, 
One shot only, and then was dumb, 

Mon.— 5 



66 VICKSBURG 

To send to the lower batteries word, 
The foe, the terrible foe had come. 

And just as the echo had died away. 

There was such a flash of lightning came 

The midnight seemed to be turned to day, 
And the river shone as if all on flame. 

And indeed it was, for on either side, 
Barns and houses and bonfires burned, 

And soon in the conflagration wide. 

They saw our ships where the river turned. 

They saw our ships and a mighty roar — 
Bellowed after us in our flight — 

There wasn't a nook on the whole east shore 
But had a battery there that night. 

Thunder and lightning, and boom on boom; 

It was terrible in the chase, 
Never again till the crack of doom 

Will the Mississippi see such a race. 

For our gunboats answered them all along — 
Spite of the wounds on their sloping mail. 

And spite of the current swift and strong 
They let them feel of their iron hail. 

Two hours the terrible storm goes on 
With one of our boats in flames, 

And one of our barges burned and gone. 
Another the river claims. 

And the hull of one of our boats they broke. 

But we, in the hold below. 
We heard the thunder and felt the stroke. 

And checked the water's flow. 



VICKSBURG 67 

And once we climbed to the deck o'erhead 

From out the Infernal place, 
Where we hardly heard what each other said 

Or looked in each other's face. 

Only a moment 1 Lord, what a sight! 

The bravest would hold his breath — 
For it seemed as if the river that night 

Were in the throes of death. 

Crash follows crash, worst follows worst, 

Thunder on thunder dire. 
As if some meteor had burst 

And set the world on fire. 

Two hours — the dang'rous deed is done ; 

Just as the dawn is by 
The heroic vessels, every one, 

Below the batteries lie. 

A shout, a cheer, a wild huzzah, 

Quick to the heavens flew 
When Grant and Sherman's soldiers saw 

The boats come rounding to. 



68 VICKSBURG 



PART II. 

WHERE ARE THEY ALL TODAY? 

Who calls it forty years ago? 

To me 'twas yesterday, 
We ran the batteries of the foe 

And anchored In the bay. 
A thousand cheers our bosoms stirred, 

My comrades wept, they say, 
When Grant but spoke a kindly word ; 

Where are they all today ? 

Red shone the dawn, and there in line 

The g^lorious army stood, 
And ere the midnight stars shall shine 

Is ferried o'er the flood. 
Where yesternight the foeman kept 

Their bivouacs by the way 
Now thirty thousand bluecoats slept; 

Where are they all today ? 

By different roads our columns led 

Where'er we tracked a foe, 
And listening to our midnight tread 

They waited for the blow. 
By day, by night, we marched and fought 

In many a bloody fray. 
And many a grave was left forgot — 

Where are they all today? 

Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson fell, 
Great was the southern ire — 

At Champion Hills a taste of hell 
They gave us with their fire. 



VICKSBURG 69 

Two hours, I saw my comrades fall — 

Begrimed in death they lay, 
The sulphurous smoke their funeral pall — 

Where are they all today ? 

Two hours of fire and tempest, then 

The foeman yield the place — 
McPherson and McClemand's men 

Are dangerous foes to face. 
They yield, for Logan's on their flank 

Who never lost the fray. 
Whose sword to foeman never sank — 

Where's Logan's sword today? 

And Hovey's pounding on their left, 

And Crocker's hurrying by, 
Fierce the assault, their line is cleft, 

What can they do but fly? 
Beneath the soft magnolia trees 

There the five thousand lay, 
Hands touching hands, knees touching knees, 

Where are they all today ? 

Yet wait, we struggle for the bridge 

Behind the flying foe. 
There from the low and wooden ridge 

The flags of Lawler go. 
A shout, a cheer, men may not dream 

Of such a charge again; 
But where are they who held the stream, 

And where are Lawler's men ? 

That very day with flags unfurled 

We circled Vicksburg town. 
And forty days and nights we hurled 

Death's missies up and down. 
By heaven it was a sight, at last. 

The host of Blue and Gray, 



70 VICKSBURG 

The cannons' roar, the muskets' blast, 
Where are they all today? 

Filled with the pride of victories by 

To storm the works we willed, 
Two times the awful thing we try. 

Our dead their ditches filled. 
Two times they hurled us back, our men 

Writhing and wounded lay; 
Brave souls who charged on Vicksburg then, 

Where are they all today ? 

Where are the Hawkeye boys who fell 

In that dread holocaust, 
When cannon burst like blasts of hell 

And all the day was lost ? 
One flag, a little moment shone 

Above the men in gray. 
'Twas theirs, 'twas theirs — though all alone. 

Where is that flag today? 

That very hour our circling lines 

The wondrous siege began. 
And burrowed pits and saps and mines 

Around the city ran. 
Like tigers fighting for their young 

The maddened men at bay 
Across our road their bravest flung — 

Where are they all today? 

To caves and hollows of the hills 

Their wives and children flew, 
Enduring all war's hideous ills. 

They were heroic, too. 
Courageous souls, war's thunder tone 

And lightnings round them play. 
And bursting shells like meteors shone — 

Where are they all today ? 



VICKSBURG 71 



The roses on the garden walls 

A thousand odors fling, 
The blackbird to the throstle calls 

And still our bullets sing. 
The little children, scared at first. 

Along the commons play, 
While Porter's shells around them burst — 

Where are they all today? 

The laurel and magnolias bloom 

In colors white and gay. 
Yet Grant and Sherman's cannon boom, 

'Tis Grant and Sherman's way. 
By saps and mines, we near the town, 

Defend it as they may, 
Their flags will soon be falling down — 

Where are their flags today? 

One morning thirty thousand men 

Laid down their arms and wept. 
Because they ne'er would see again 

The hills their valor kept. 
Our scanty bread with them we shared, 

As bravest soldiers may. 
They cheered us, who but now had dared. 

Where are they all today? 

The forts are ours, the mighty stream 

Unvexed flows to the main, 
A thousand miles our banners gleam, 

We've cut the south in twain. 
Where are the victors, where the foe — 

Where are the Blue and Gray, 
The hero souls of years ago — 

Where are they all today? 

Build to our own the marble bust 
Where the great river laves 



72 VICKSBURG 

Yon hill that holds their honored dust — 
Their twenty thousand graves. 

The years go on, the living still, 
If Blue coat, or if Gray, 

May ask the mounds on yonder hill, 
Where are they all today? 



Benediction Rev. Mr. Hillhouse 

of Vicksburg 

"Almighty God, we pray that thy rich blessing may rest 
upon all of us gathered here, and upon all of the people through- 
out our great nation. We pray that thy almighty power may 
sustain us as a people, that thy wisdom may guide us, that thy 
love may uphold us, and that the exercises of this day may cre- 
ate in our hearts good fellowship and patriotism and peace, and 
to thee we will give all the praise, now and forever more. 
Amen." 



ICmVICKil5UI2CrPARK 

MONUMENT^ COMMI55ION 




THE COMMISSION AND ITS WORK 



MEMBERS. 

John F. Merry, Dubuque, Twenty-first Iowa infantry. 

Luclen C. Blanchard, Oskaloosa, Twenty-eighth Iowa in- 
fantry. 

J. A. Fitchpatrick, Nevada, Third Iowa infantry. 

E. J. C. Bealer, Cedar Rapids, Twenty-second Iowa infantry. 

David A. Haggard, Algona, Twenty-first Iowa infantry. 

W. O. Mitchell, Corning, Thirteenth Iowa infantry. 

W. H. C. Jacques, Ottumwa, Nineteenth Iowa infantry. 

Henry H. Rood, Mt. Vernon, Thirteenth Iowa infantry. 

James H. Dean, Des Moines, Twenty-third Iowa infantry. 

Chairman — John F. Merry, Dubuque. 

Secretary — Henry H. Rood, Mt. Vernon. 

The Twenty-ninth General Assembly appropriated "$150,- 
000 for the purpose of perpetuating the memory and commem- 
orating the valor and services of Iowa soldiers in the campaign 
and siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863, by erecting 
brigade, regimental and state monuments and tablets on the 
Vicksburg national military park," and authorized the governor 
to appoint a commission of nine members, each of whom shall 
have been a member of an Iowa regiment or battery in the war 
of the rebellion, to let the contracts and superintend the erection 
of the monuments and tablets. Governor Cummins announced 
the appointment of the commission April 28, 1902. 

The commission met in Des Moines, May twenty-first and 
organized. In October they visited Washington, D. C, Gettys- 
burg, Pa., and Richmond, Va., to study memorial designs and 
to further inform themselves for the discharge of their duties. 
In July, 1903, a sub-committee visited New York and Boston 
to make a further study of memorial designs and to select a 

(78) 



74 VICKSBURG 

sculptor, and in October of the same year the full committee 
visited Vicksburg and selected sites for the state, brigade and 
regimental monuments. March 30, 1904, the committee met 
at Des Moines and accepted the design for the state memorial 
prepared by Henry H. Kitson, of Boston, Mass., the sculptor 
selected by the commission. The commission entered into a 
contract with Mr. Kitson, March 30, 1904, for the erection of 
the state monument for $100,000, the same to be completed in 
four years from date and sooner if possible. On the same date 
a contract was entered into with Edmund H. Prior, of Postville, 
Iowa, for the erection of the thirteen brigade, regimental and 
battery monuments for the sum of $28,500, and at a subsequent 
meeting this sum was increased $500 to permit of the enlarge- 
ment of the only single regimental monument, the Third in- 
fantry. The various organizations are grouped into brigades 
as far as possible, and all of the monuments stand on Union 
avenue. 

In the discharge of their duties the commissioners have been 
governed from the beginning, as nearly as possible, by the 
following considerations : 

To set up on this field, one of the greatest and most crucial of 
the war, such monuments and tablets as will adequately mark 
the positions of the Iowa commands engaged, and emphasize 
the truth of history, that from Grand Gulf, where Iowa sailors 
served on the gunboats, through Port Gibson, Jackson, Cham- 
pion Hill, Black River Bridge, and the assaults of May nine- 
teenth and twenty-second, in fact at every point of contact, the 
soldiers and sailors of Iowa were at the forefront of battle, their 
flags and muskets fully abreast of their comrades from other 
states in the effort to open the Mississippi and sever the Con- 
federacy. 

Granite and bronze only have been used in the erection of 
the monuments. Both materials have been carefully tested and 
inspected. An inspector, employed by the commission, is pres- 
ent at the quarry at Barre, Vermont, to pass upon the fitness of 
every piece of granite. This inspection has been and is con- 
tinued as the structure is erected at Vicksburg, to insure that 
nothing but the most perfect of materials shall mark the heroic 



VICKSBURG 75 

part taken by the soldiers of Iowa in the investment and siege 
of Vicksburg. The historical tablets, inscriptions on the smaller 
monuments, and the great panels in the central memorial, are of 
United States standard bronze which readily lends itself to this 
use, permitting of results in decoration and beauty of form not 
otherwise obtainable. It has been the purpose of the commis- 
sion to see that the tablets, monuments and state memorial shall 
in their spirit and decorations be typical of the men and events 
they commemorate, the whole set in a frame of simple and noble 
architecture, adorned with the highest conceptions of the sculp- 
tor's art. 

State Memorial. 

The design is a peristyle, semi-circular in form ; its dimensions 
are as follows : 

Feet. Inches. 

Total width 64 

Depth from front of steps to back of 

monument 29 9 

Height of monument from ground 26 8 

Height of center portion from 

ground 29 10 

Height from ground to base of 

columns 6 

Height of columns 13 6 

Height of entablature 4 6 

Diameter of columns at base i 

Diameter of columns at neck i 

Height of bas-reliefs 4 6 

Width of bas-reliefs 5 6 

Width of pediment 18 

Length of pediment from platform .24 

Width across front and pylons. ... 7 6 

Width of side pylons 5 

Distance of columns on centers. ... 6 
Depth of piers back of columns .... i 8 

Distance of face of column in front 

of bas-reliefs 2 6 



76 VICKSBURG 

Feet Inches 
Width of granite wall across rear at 

back of pediment 22 

Width of tread of steps i 4 

Length of court from base of column 

to base of column 50 

The design is pure Greek, the columns are massive Doric and 
between are open spaces for six bas-reliefs, four feet and six 
inches by five feet and six inches in size, on which will be 
portrayed in bronze, the following scenes: 

Grand Gulf (naval). Champion Hill. 

Port Gibson. Black River Bridge. 

Jackson. Assault, May 22, 1863. 

The tablet in the central panel will contain a list of the regi- 
ments and batteries engaged in the campaign and siege, the 
number of troops and their losses. 

On the platform a bronze equestrian statue of heroic size 
will be placed, representing a soldier carrying the standard and 
entitled "The Standard Bearer." 

The broad platform and generous steps give a setting for the 
monument and will enable throngs to visit the memorial and be 
impressed with the bas-reliefs and other sculpture. The de- 
sign lends itself to the placing of inscriptions in a very advan- 
tageous form in the frieze and on the pylons. The complete 
effect of the bronzes, the inscriptions and the architecture will 
be of great beauty, and at the same time of great strength. 

This noble architectural structure will stand on Union avenue 
in front of the railroad redoubt. A curved driveway will 
leave Union avenue, pass in front of the monument and return 
to Union avenue. 

A sub-committee visited the residence of the sculptor, H. H. 
Kitson, at Quincy, Mass., in July, 1905, and inspected the clay 
models for the six large bas-reliefs. They found the models 
striking examples of the sculptor's skill, fairly throbbing with 
intense action and vividly portraying the various scenes. After 
making suggestions looking to the changing in minor detail of 
the designs the committee approved the models. 



VICKSBURG 77 

The inscription on the face of the memorial is : 

lowers Memorial to her soldiers who served in the campaign 

and siege of Vicksburg, March 2g-July 4, 1863. 

The following inscription in raised bronze letters is proposed 

for the central panel of the pediment : 

IOWA 



Iowa Commands and Casualties. 



ARTILLERY. 

First battery, wounded i. 
Second battery, killed i, wounded 6, total 7. 

CAVALRY. 

Third regiment (Companies A, B, C, D, I, K) 
Fourth regiment, killed 9, wounded 16, missing 23, total 48. 

INFANTRY. 

Third regiment, killed i, wounded 18, total 19. 

Fourth regiment, wounded 13. 

Fifth regiment, killed 22, wounded 97, total 119. 

Sixth regiment. 

Eighth regiment, wounded 5. 

Ninth regiment, killed 37, wounded 82, total 119. 

Tenth regiment, killed 38, wounded 157, total 195. 

Eleventh regiment, killed i, wounded i, total 2. 

Twelfth regiment, killed i, wounded 2, total 3. 

Thirteenth regiment. 

Fifteenth regiment. 

Sixteenth regiment, wounded 2. 

Seventeenth regiment, killed 24, wounded 151, missing 4, 

total 179. 

Nineteenth regiment, wounded i. 

Twentieth regiment. 

Twenty-first regiment, killed 29, wounded 174, missing 10, 

total 213. 
Twenty-second regiment, killed 29, wounded 141, missing 19, 

total 189. 
Twenty-third regiment, killed 45, wounded 148, total 193. 



78 VICKSBURG 

Twenty-fourth regiment, killed 36, wounded 125, missing 34, 

total 195. 
Twenty-fifth regiment, killed 5, wounded 27, missing 5, total 37. 

Twenty-sixth regiment, killed 7, wounded 34, total 41. 
Twenty-eighth regiment, killed 24, wounded 76, missing 17, 

total 117. 

Thirtieth regiment, killed 13, wounded 43, missing i, total 57. 

Thirty-first regiment, killed 3, wounded 20, total 23. 

Thirty- fourth regiment, killed 4, wounded 6, total 10. 

Thirty-fifth regiment, killed i, wounded i, missing i, total 3. 

Thirty-eighth regiment. 

Fortieth regiment. 

Aggregate, killed 330, wounded 1,347, missing 114, total 

1,791. 



Brigade. Regimental and Battery Monuments. 



The same style is followed in these monuments as is used for 
the state memorial: Doric columns, entablatures, etc. Thus 
the same general design is carried out presenting an uniform and 
harmonious whole. The inscriptions are in bronze and give the 
history of each command during the campaign and siege. 

These monuments have been completed by the contractor and 
have been accepted by the commission. The beauty of their 
workmanship and the simple and noble lines of their design 
attract the attention of all visitors to the park and elicit unquali- 
fied praise. The word "Iowa" appears not only on each of the 
granite monuments but Is also on each bronze entablature. 
The inscriptions attached to each of the monuments are as fol- 
lows: 



Iowa Infantry Regiments in Second Brigade, First 
Division, Fifteenth Corps. 



twenty-fifth infantry: colonel GEO. A. STONE. 

Casualties: — In the assault. May 22, 1863, killed 5, wounded 
27; missing 5, total 37; and during the siege, not reported. 




bra/i.LakYCc'iu-'!f 



«v*ii< 



CAVALRY MONUMENT ERECTED AT VICKSBURG 



VICKSBURG 79 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 5, wounded 27, missing 5, total 37. 



THIRTY-FIRST INFANTRY: COLONEL WILLIAM SMYTH, MAJOR 
THEODORE STIMMING. 

Casualties: — In skirmish on Fourteen Mile Creek, May 12, 
1863, wounded i ; in the assault, May 22, killed 3, wounded 19, 
total 22; and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 3, wounded 20, total 23. 



Iowa First Battery. 



CAPTAIN HENRY H. GRIFFITHS. FIRST DIVISION, FIFTEENTH 

CORPS. 

Casualties: — In the battle of Port Gibson, May i, 1863, 
wounded i, credited to Second brigade, Fourteenth division. 
Thirteenth corps, to which the battery was temporarily attached ; 
and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in battery during the campaign 
and siege : Wounded i . 



lowA Infantry Regiments Forming Third Brigade, First 
Division, Fifteenth Corps. 



FOURTH INFANTRY: COLONEL JAMES A. WILLIAMSON; LIEU- 
TENANT COLONEL GEORGE BURTON. 

Casualties: — In the assault, May 19, 1863, wounded 13 ; and 
during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege : Wounded 13. 



NINTH INFANTRY: MAJOR DON. A. CARPENTER; CAPTAIN 

FREDERICK S. WASHBURN; MAJOR DON. A. CARPENTER; 

COLONEL DAVID CARSKADDON. 

Casualties: — In the assault, May 19, 1863, killed 4, wounded 
12, total 16; in the assault. May 2 2d, killed 18, wounded 60, 



80 VICKSBURG 

total 78. Lieutenants Edward Tyrrell and Jacob Jones killed; 
Captain Florilla M. Kelsey, Captain Frederick S. Washburn 
and Lieutenant Leonard L. Martin mortally wounded; and 
during the siege, killed 15, wounded 10, total 25. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 37, wounded 82, total 119. 



TWENTY-SIXTH INFANTRY: COLONEL MILO SMITH. 

Casualties: — In the assault, May 19, 1863, killed 3, wounded 
II, total 14; in the assault May 22d, killed 4, wounded 23, 
total 27; and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 7, wounded 34, total 41. 



THIRTIETH INFANTRY: COLONEL CHAS. H. ABBOTT; COLONEL 
WILLIAM N. G. TORRENCE. 

Casualties: — In the assault. May 19, 1863, wounded 7; in 
the assault May 22d, killed 13, wounded 36, missing i, total 
50. Colonel Charles H. Abbott and Lieutenant J. P. Milliken 
killed. (Lieutenant Milliken had been commissioned, and was 
acting as Major of the regiment, but had not been mustered.) 
Lieutenant David Letner mortally wounded; and during the 
siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 13, wounded 43, missing i, total 57. 



lowA Second Battery. 



LIEUTENANT JOSEPH R. REED. THIRD DIVISION, FIFTEENTH 

CORPS. 

Casualties: — In the engagement at Jackson, May 14, 1863, 
M^ounded i; in the assault, May 22d, wounded 3; and during 
the siege, killed i ; wounded 2, total 3. 

Aggregate reported casualties in battery during the campaign 
and siege: Killed i, wounded 6, total 7. 



VICKSBURG 81 

Iowa Infantry Regiments in Third Brigade, Third 
Division, Fifteenth Corps. 



EIGHTH infantry: COLONEL JAMES L. GEDDES. 

Casualties: — In the assault, May 22, 1863, wounded 5; and 
during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege : Wounded 5. 



twelfth infantry: major SAMUEL R. EDGINGTON; COL- 
ONEL JOSEPH J. WOODS; LIEUTENANT COLONEL SAMUEL 
R. EDGINGTON. 

Casualties: — In the assault. May 19, 1863, killed i, wounded 
I, total 2; and during the siege, wounded i. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed i, wounded 2, total 3. 



THIRTY-FIFTH INFANTRY : COLONEL SYLVESTER G. HILL. 

Casualties: — In the engagement at Jackson, May 14, 1863, 
killed I, wounded i, missing i, total 3 ; and during the siege, not 
reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed i, wounded i, missing i, total 3. - 



Iowa Third Infantry. 



COLONEL AARON BROWN, FIRST BRIGADE, FOURTH DIVISION, 
SIXTEENTH CORPS. 

Casualties: — On transport "Crescent City," en route to Vicks- 
burg, May 18, 1863, near Greenville, Mississippi, wounded 14; 
in skirmish, the evening of June 4th, wounded 2 ; and in skir- 
mish, the night of June 24th, killed i, wounded 2, total 3. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the siege: 
Killed I, wounded 18, total 19. 

Mon.-6 



82 VICKSBURG 

Iowa Infantry Regiments in Second and Third 
Brigades, Seventh Division, Seventeenth Corps. 



FIFTH infantry (THIRD BRIGADE) : LIEUTENANT COLONEL 
EZEKIAL S. SAMPSON ; COLONEL JABEZ BANBURY. 

Casualties: — In the engagement at Jackson, May 14, 1863, 
wounded 4; in the battle of Champion Hill, May i6th, killed 
19, wounded 75, total 94; Lieutenants Samuel B. Lindsay and 
Jerome Darling killed; in the assault, May 226., killed 3, 
wounded 18, total 21 ; and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 22, wounded 97, total 119. 



TENTH INFANTRY (THIRD BRIGADE) : COLONEL WILLIAM E. 

SMALL. 

Casualties: — In the battle of Champion Hill, May 16, 1863, 
killed 36, wounded 131, total 167; Captain Stephen W. Poage, 
Lieutenant James H. Terry and Lieutenant Isaac H. Brown 
killed; in the assault, May 22, killed 2, wounded 26, total 28; 
and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 38, wounded 157, total 195. 



SEVENTEENTH INFANTRY (SECOND BRIGADE) : COLONEL DAVID 

B. HILLIS; LIEUTENANT COLONEL CLARK R. WEVER; 

COLONEL DAVID B. HILLIS; COLONEL 

CLARK R. WEVER; MAJOR JOHN 

F. WALDEN. 

Casualties: — In the engagement at Jackson, May 14, 1863, 
killed 16, wounded 61, missing 3, total 80; Lieutenant John Ins- 
keep killed; in the battle of Champion Hill, May 16, killed 5, 
wounded 51, missing i, total 57; in the assault, May 22, 
wounded 5 ; in the assault following the firing of the mine under 
the Third Louisiana Redan June 25, killed 3, wounded 34, 
total 37; and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 24, wounded 151, missing 4, total 179. 



VICKSBURG 83 

Iowa Infantry Regiments Forming Third Brigade, Sixth 
Division, Seventeenth Corps. 



ELEVENTH INFANTRY: COLONEL WILLIAM HALL; LIEUTEN- 
ANT COLONEL JOHN C. ABERCROMBIE ; COL- 
ONEL WILLIAM HALL. 

Casualties: — In the assault, May 22, 1863, killed i, wounded 
I, total 2 ; and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed i, wounded i, total 2. 



THIRTEENTH INFANTRY: COLONEL JOHN SHANE. 

Casualties: — No reported casualties in regiment during the 
campaign and siege. 



FIFTEENTH INFANTRY: COLONEL HUGH T. REID; COLONEL 
WILLIAM W. BELKNAP. 

Casualties: — No reported casualties in regiment during the 
campaign and siege. 



SIXTEENTH INFANTRY: LIEUTENANT COLONEL ADDISON H. 

SANDERS; MAJOR WILLIAM PURCELL; LIEUTENANT 

COLONEL ADDISON H. SANDERS. 

Casualties: — In the assault, May 22, 1863, wounded i ; and 
during the siege, wounded i. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during campaign 
and siege: Wounded 2. 



Iowa Infantry Regiments Forming Second Brigade, 
Fourteenth Division, Thirteenth Corps. 



TWENTY-FIRST INFANTRY: COLONEL SAMUEL MERRILL; 

MAJOR SALUE G. VAN ANDA ; LIEUTENANT COLONEL 

CORNELIUS W. DUNLAP. 

Casualties: — In the battle of Port Gibson, May i, 1863, 
wounded 17; in the engagement at Big Black River Bridge, 



84 VICKSBURG 

May 17, killed 13, wounded 70, total 83; Lieutenant Henry 
H. Howard mortally wounded; in the assault, May 22, killed 
16, wounded 87, missing 10, total 113, Lieutenant Colonel 
Cornelius W. Dunlap killed, Lieutenants Samuel Bates and 
William A. Roberts mortally wounded; and during the siege, 
not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 29, wounded 174, missing 10, total 
213. 



TWENTY-SECOND INFANTRY : LIEUTENANT COLONEL HARVEY 
GRAHAM; COLONEL WILLIAM M. STONE; MAJOR JOSEPH 
B. ATHERTON; colonel WILLIAM M. STONE; LIEU- 
TENANT COLONEL HARVEY GRAHAM; MAJOR 
JOSEPH B. ATHERTON; CAPTAIN CHARLES 
N. LEE. 

Casualties: — In the battle of Port Gibson, May i, 1863,. 
killed 2, wounded 21, total 23; in the engagement at Big Black 
River Bridge, May 17, wounded 2; in the assault. May 22, 
killed 27, wounded 118, missing 19, total 164, Captain James 
Robertson and Lieutenant Matthew A. Robb killed; and dur- 
ing the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 29, wounded 141, missing 19, total 
189. 



TWENTY-THIRD INFANTRY: LIEUTENANT COLONEL SAMUEL L. 

GLASGOW ; COLONEL WILLIAM H. KINSMAN ; 

COLONEL SAMUEL L. GLASGOW. 

Casualties: — In the battle of Port Gibson, May i, 1863, 
killed 9, wounded 26, total 35 ; in the engagement at Big Black 
River Bridge, May 17, killed 13, wounded 88, total loi, 
Colonel William H. Kinsman and Captain Richard L. McCray 
killed. Lieutenants Sylvester G. Beckwith and John D. Ewing 
mortally wounded; in the attack on Milllken's Bend, Louisi- 
ana, June 7, killed 23, wounded 34, total 57; and from June 
19th to the end of the siege, not reported. 




1 0"// A 




2.. I Li :J;; 




BRIGADE MONUMENT ERECTED AT VICKSBURG 



VICKSBURG 85 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 45, wounded 148, total 193. 



Iowa Infantry Regiments In Second Brigade, Twelfth 
Division, Thirteenth Corps. 



TWENTY-FOURTH INFANTRY: COLONEL EBER C. BYAM; LIEU- 
TENANT COLONEL JOHN Q. WILDS. 

Casualties: — In the battle of Port Gibson, May i, 1863, 
killed I, wounded 5, total 6; in the battle of Champion Hill, 
May 16, killed 35, wounded 120, missing 34, total 189, Cap- 
tain Silas D. Johnson, Captain William Carbee, and Lieutenant 
Chauncey Lawrence killed; and during the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 36, wounded 125, missing 34, total 

195- 



TWENTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY: COLONEL JOHN CONNELL.f 

Casualties: — In the battle of Port Gibson, May i, 1863, 
killed 3, wounded 14, missing 3, total 20; in the battle of 
Champion Hill, May 16, killed 21, wounded 62, missing 14, 
total 97, Lieutenants Benjamin F. Kirby and John J. Legan 
killed. Lieutenant John Buchanan mortally wounded ; and dur- 
ing the siege, not reported. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 24, wounded 76, missing 17, total 117. 



lowA Infantry Regiments In Herron's Division. 



NINETEENTH INFANTRY: LIEUTENANT COLONEL DANIEL 
KENT, SECOND BRIGADE. 

Casualties: — From June 15, 1863, to the end of the siege, 
Wounded i. 



TWENTIETH INFANTRY: COLONEL WILLIAM MCE. DYE, FIRST 

BRIGADE. 

Casualties: — No reported casualties in regiment from June 
15, 1863, to the end of the siege. 



86 VICKSBURG 

THIRTY-FOURTH INFANTRY: COLONEL GEORGE W. CLARK, 

FIRST BRIGADE. 

Casualties: — From June 15, 1863, to the end of the siege, 
Killed 4, wounded 6, total 10. 



THIRTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY: COLONEL D. HENRY HUGHES, 
FIRST BRIGADE. 

Casualties: — Nio reported casualties in regiment from June 
15, 1863, to the end of the siege. 



lowA Infantry Regiments On Exterior Line. 



SIXTH infantry: COLONEL JOHN M. CORSE, FOURTH BRI- 
GADE, FIRST DIVISION, SIXTEENTH CORPS. 

The regiment arrived at Haynes' Bluff, on transport, about 
June 12, 1863, and served on the exterior line at Haynes' 
Bluffs and Oak Ridge from that time to the end of the siege, 
without reported casualties. 



FORTIETH INFANTRY: COLONEL JOHN A. GARRETT, MONT- 
GOMERY'S BRIGADE, Kimball's division, 

SIXTEENTH CORPS. 

The regiment arrived at Satartia, on transport, about June 4, 
1863, and served on the exterior line at or near Haynes' Bluffs 
from that time to the end of the siege, without reported cas- 
ualties. 



Iowa Cavalry Regiments On Exterior Line. 



THIRD CAVALRY: COMPANIES A, B, C, D, I, K, MAJOR OLIVER 
H. P. SCOTT, UNATTACHED. 

The detachment arrived in the Yazoo River, on transport, 
about June 10, 1863; it was engaged from that time to the 
end of the siege in skirmishing, outpost duty, and reconnais- 
sances, without reported casualties. 



VICKSBURG 87 

FOURTH CAVALRY : LIEUTENANT COLONEL SIMEON D. SWAN, 
FIFTEENTH CORPS. 

The regiment was engaged in skirmishing, outpost duty and 
reconnaissances during the campaign and siege; it occupied 
Haynes' Bluff, May 19, 1863, and turned over the guns and 
stores abandoned there to the commander of the gunboat "De- 
Kalb." 

Casualties: — In skirmish on Fourteen Mile Creek, May 12, 
killed I ; and in action at Hill's plantation, near Birdsong Ferry, 
June 22, killed 8, wounded 16, missing 23, total 47; Lieutenant 
Joshua Gardner mortally wounded. 

Aggregate reported casualties in regiment during the cam- 
paign and siege: Killed 9, wounded 16, missing 23, total 48. 



TABLETS. 



Fifty-nine bronze tablets, attached to granite posts, have 
been erected on the field to mark the positions on the line of 
investment, the positions gained in the assaults of May 19th 
and 2 2d, the sharpshooters line and the camps of the thirty-two 
Iowa organizations engaged in the siege. In addition to these 
the United States has erected twenty-nine tablets. The granite 
posts are fifty-eight inches in length, set in the ground thirty 
inches, leaving them twenty-eight inches above the surface. 
The tablets are thirty-six by twenty-four inches, and at the top 
of each apj>ears the word "Iowa." 

Proposals for these fifty-nine tablets and posts were submitted 
by five of the leading bronze manufactories of the country, and 
the contract was awarded to the Gorham Manufacturing com- 
pany of Providence, Rhode Island. 

The tablets have been placed to mark the following positions 
of the various commands: 

Third Infantry: — Affair in the trenches, night of June 23; 
sharpshooters line June 9-July 4. 

Fourth Infantry: — Assault May 19; camp May 19- July 4; 
sharpshooters line May 23-July 4. 



88 VICKSBURG 

Fifth Infantry: — Assault May 22 (forenoon position) ; as- 
sault May 22 (afternoon position); camp May 20- June 22; 
sharpshooters line June 5 -June 22. 

Eighth Infantry: — Assault May 22 ; camp May 22-June 1 1 ; 
sharpshooters line June 5-June 22. 

Ninth Infantry: — Assault May 19; assault May 22; sharp- 
shooters line May 23-July 4. 

Tenth Infantry: — Assault May 22 (forenoon position) ; as- 
sault May 22 (afternoon position); camp May 20- June 22; 
sharpshooters line June 5- June 22. 

Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Infantry: — 
(Skirmishers) Assault May 22. 

Twelfth Infantry: — ^Assault May 22; camp May 22-June 
1 1 ; sharpshooters line June 5- June 22. 

Seventeenth Infantry: — Assault May 22 (forenoon posi- 
tion) ; camp May 20- July 4; sharpshooters line June 5-July 4. 

Nineteenth Infantry: — Sharpshooters line June 24- July 4. 

Twentieth Infantry: — Sharpshooters line June 24- July 4. 

Twenty 'first Infantry: — Assault May 22; camp May 21- 
July 4; sharpshooters line May 23-July 4; advanced sharp- 
shooters line June 19- July 4. 

Twenty-second Infantry: — Assault May 22; camp May 21- 
July 4; sharpshooters line May 23-July 4; advanced sharpshoot- 
ers line June 19- July 4. 

Twenty-third Infantry: — Camp June i6-July 4; advanced 
sharpshooters line June 19- July 4. 

Twenty-fourth Infantry : — Camp June 4- July 4 ; sharpshoot- 
ers line June 5-July 4; advanced sharpshooters line June 5- 

July 4- 

Twenty -fifth Infantry: — Assault May 22; sharpshooters line 
May 2 7- July 4. 

Twenty-sixth Infantry: — Assault May 19; assault May 22; 
sharpshooters line May 23-July 4. 

Twenty-eighth Infantry : — Camp June 4- July 4 ; sharpshoot- 
ers line June 5-July 4; advanced sharpshooters line June 5- 

July 4- 

Thirtieth Infantry: — Assault May 19; assault May 22; 
sharpshooters line May 23-July 4. 



ll'^°-%Wtllf^V*-''^'"'^ ''" 'V^^'iiWi^-^ 



mamsspmmes 






^^^ 










ONE OF THE FIFTY-NINE BRONZE TABLETS MARKING THE POSITIONS OF 
IOWA COMMANDS DURING THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG 



VICKSBURG 89 

Thirty-first Infantry: — Assault May 22; sharpshooters line 
May 27-July 4. 

Thirty-fourth Infantry: — Sharpshooters line June 24- July 4. 

Thirty-fifth Infantry: — Assault May 22 ; camp May 2 2- June 
II ; sharpshooters line June 5 -June 22. 

Thirty-eighth Infantry: — Sharpshooters line June 24- July 4. 



ANDERSONVILLE 



INTRODUCTORY 



The Governor's special train left Vicksburg, Mississippi, for 
Andersonville, Georgia, at seven o'clock P. M. November 
fifteenth, but owing to delays from various causes it was im- 
possible to reach Andersonville for the dedication of the monu- 
ment on the sixteenth, as had been planned. Accordingly, a 
stop of several hours was made at Montgomery, Alabama. 
The train reached Andersonville at half past five o'clock on the 
morning of the seventeenth. 

It rained in the early morning but by nine o'clock the clouds 
parted and the sun shone brightly. At ten o'clock the train 
was drawn up on a siding close to the cemetery and the line of 
march was formed as follows: 

Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band. 

One platoon 17th U. S. Inf. from Ft. McPherson, Georgia. 

Governor Cummins and Staff. 

Monument Commissions. 

Soldiers of the Civil War. 

Visiting friends and citizens. 

The march to the cemetery was a solemn tread to the 
sacred strains of martial music. In this city of the dead lie 
13,838 men who wore the blue and gave up their lives for 
the flag that now waves over their graves. It was a march 
that will never be forgotten by those who took part in it, so 
sad, and so mournful. 

Seated on the speaker's stand facing the monument were, 
Governor Cummins, General Grenville M. Dodge, General E. 
A. Carman, U. S. A., and the members of the Andersonville 
monument commission with the exception of Captain M. T. 
Russell, whose health would not permit him to make the south- 
ern trip. 



(93) 




IOWA MONUMENT AT ANDERSONVILLE 



Exercises at the Dedication of the Iowa Monument 

at Andersonville, Georgia 

November 17, 1906 



10:30 A. M. 
Call to Order Captain J. A. Brewer 

Chairman of the Commission 

Invocation Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

of Allerton, Iowa 

"Before we pray I wish to make one quotation from the 
Scripture. It was in the treasury in the temple at Jerusalem. 
The Savior of the World had spoken, as recorded in John 
8 :30-32 : *As he spake these words, many believed on him. 
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If ye 
continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye 
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' 

"With this philosophy now in our hearts and minds, let us 
all pray : 

"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; 
thy kingdom come ; thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven ; 
give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as 
we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil : for thine is the kingdom, and the power, 
and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

"And our Father, we now pray that thou would'st guide 
us. We owe to thee every service that we can give. We 
owe to thee thanksgiving and praise for all the multitude of 
the tender mercies that thou hast thrown around about us, and 
we come here today with hearts full, in memory of these, our 
comrades, who suffered and died here as martyrs to a cause 
they loved. We thank thee, our Heavenly Father, that these 
men believed and that their comrades believed with them ; that 

(») 



96 ANDERSONVILLE 

they so struggled and died, firm in the faith. Lord help us to 
see and know the truth, realizing that it alone can make and keep 
us free. 

"And now, dear Lord, do thou bless this great land of ours. 
Bless our President and all our institutions. May they be 
wisely directed, managed and controlled, with that wisdom that 
shall attain the very best results. Bless our Governor and the 
people of the state of Iowa whose great broad hearts have led 
them to do what they have done here and in other fields in 
this land. Help them to still cling to their homes, churches and 
schools, and build for time and eternity. We pray thee, our 
Father, as the work of this commission has been completed 
and has been well and wisely done, with hearts filled with love, 
that thou wouldst bless the members of the commission and 
lead them ever in the ways of truth. May thy name be glori- 
fied; may our flag forever wave, so that all shall be love 
and happiness and prosperity among us. Bless us in the 
further exercises of this day; keep us and guide us in the ways 
of love and truth, and at last save us in heaven. We ask it in 
Jesus' name. Amen." 



Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"The Star Spangled Banner" 

Unveiling of Monument . . Mrs. Albert B. Cummins 

Presentation to the Governor of Iowa .... 

Captain J. A. Brewer 

Chairman of the Commission 

Governor Cummins, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We have now come to the second stage of our journey, pay- 
ing homage and tribute to the brave boys of Iowa, who gave 
their lives on southern battle fields and in southern prisons. 

Yesterday we paused to lay a garland on the graves of the 
brave at Vicksburg and in our weak way show our appreciation 
of the sacrifices made on that bloody field. Tomorrow we pass 
on to Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge and Shiloh, 
there to pay tribute to the valor and martyrdom of the Iowa 
boys whose blood ran red on those memorable fields of battle. 



ANDERSONVILLE 97 

Today we pause for a short time to remember and to glorify 
men who fought on this field a battle waged not with guns and 
bayonets and the resounding scream of bullets, grape and can- 
ister as they plowed their way to death and destruction, ac- 
companied by mingled cries of suffering and victory; a battle 
devoid of the exhilaration of the shock of conflict as human 
energy and endurance strove for mastery in battle; a battle not 
ended with the setting of the sun over yonder oaks as the day 
ended; no- — these men whom we now honor fought a battle 
that began with their incarceration within the palings of the 
stockade, renewed from day to day, each one fiercer than the 
preceding; a mighty struggle of human endurance and of 
worldly passion for the necessities of life and of hunger and 
shelter and raiment and bodily ills against the wiles of an 
enemy ever endeavoring to make human existence an impossi- 
bility; a battle with little hope of an ending but that of death 
or the dishonor of renouncing the cause that they had sworn 
to defend. 

These men too were at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain 
and Missionary Ridge. They too had often been footsore 
after the Icmg and weary march. They knew of the hardships 
and privations of troops in campaign and the full meaning of 
the roar of the battle and of the harvest of death on the bloody 
fields. But friends, it was denied them the quick death by a 
bullet. Their death was decreed to be slow and lingering, 
and that they in their devotion to duty should taste of the very 
dregs of the bitter cup of death. There was no cheer of victory 
to greet their ears, no waving folds of Old Glory to greet their 
eyes, no surgeon to dress their wounds or to ease their pains 
as they passed to answer the last roll. No — they fought their 
daily battles in silence, little dreaming that half a century after- 
wards the state they honored in their death would here do them 
honor. Their sufferings here in the battle of human endurance 
called for a strength of purpose and an unselfish devotion to 
cause that was unknown at Shiloh, Lookout Mountain and 
Missionary Ridge and Vicksburg. 

Far from any cry of victory, submerged in what forty years 
ago was a dense forest unhealthy by nature and made more so 

Mod.— 7 



98 ANDERSONVILLE 

by the hand of man, was fought this battle. Locked In the 
embrace of a wilderness, cut off from friends and civilization 
they meekly suffered the burden of their lot, never yielding to 
life and dishonor in preference to death and honor. They 
died in behalf of a holy cause and what little we may do here 
today on behalf of the state of Iowa and her people can at 
best be but scant recognition of their great sacrifices. 

The Thirtieth General Assembly of Iowa, recognizing the 
devotion to duty of these men, appropriated $10,000 for the 
erection of a monument in commemoration of their valor and 
suffering, and the governor was instructed to appoint a commis- 
sion of five ex-prisoners of war to select the design and super- 
intend its erection. In accordance with this act Governor Cum- 
mins appointed W. C. Tompkins, M. V. B. Evans, M. T. 
Russell, D. C. Bishard and myself as commissioners. We have 
in our weak way endeavored to choose a design fitting to the 
purpose and to place thereon such inscriptions as will for the 
years to come stand as a mute, yet powerful reminder of Iowa's 
public recognition of the debt she owes these patriots. We 
trust that the granite of these blocks and the cement and lead 
which bind them together will withstand the ravages of all time, 
pointing as It were to the coming generations the history of 
men who died a slow and lingering death, steadfast in the faith 
they swore to defend. And now, your excellency, on behalf 
of the lowa-Andersonville prison monument commission I have 
the honor to present you, and through you to the people of Iowa, 
this monument. 



Acceptance and Presentation to the United States 

Government Albert B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen of the Andersonville Prison Monu- 
ment Commission, Prisoners of War, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
Words are meaningless things upon an occasion like this. 
I think we all understand that, but possibly you do not appreci- 
ate as I do at this moment that words are not only meaningless 
— inadequate — but they are difficult as well. Mr. Chairman, as 



ANDERSONVILLE 99 

you have so well said, but a few hours ago we dedicated to 
the immortal renown of our boys who fought at Vicksburg, 
the memorials which a grateful state has erected to their 
memory. It was easy to speak as I stood upon that historic 
spot. It was easy to speak of the wild enthusiasm of the charge 
and the rushing splendor of the assault, for death seemed to 
be robbed of its terrors when accompanied with a glory so 
radiant and so complete. That hour was full of glowing 
memories. This hour is surcharged with the saddest recollec- 
tions that can fill the human heart. 

It seemed to me this morning that the clouds themselves 
were in harmony with the emotions that overcame these soldiers 
of the war and with the ceremonies through which we are 
passing. They were weeping in sympathy with the loyal people 
of the state of Iowa. As we stand where her brave sons suf- 
fered the extremest test of loyalty to the Union and to the flag, 
does it not fill your hearts with a new purpose, my dear friends, 
does it not fill them with a new adoration for human nature, 
when you remember that these boys suffered the unparalleled 
inhumanity of the prison and the infinite cruelties of the stock- 
ade rather than to surrender for a single moment their privilege 
to fight and to die for the Union, and for the sovereignty of 
the old flag? It seems to me that in all the lessons of history, 
in all the inspiration of bravery and courage, nothing can 
surpass the resolution which filled their hearts when, day after 
day, they saw their comrades go nameless into unknown graves, 
rather than desert the Union which they had sworn to pro- 
tect and to preserve. Ah! when I come to review the perils, 
the hardships, of the war, as I have done in many a patriotic 
moment, I never dreamed of the emotions which fill, crowd, 
and overcrowd my soul at this moment. I never knew that 
such a scene could be presented to the human eye. I have 
never looked upon anything so pathetic as these long lines of 
gleaming marble, each telling its story of a patriotic life and a 
faithful death. We cannot, however, ennoble them. It is 
for us to leave this beautiful, serene home of the dead, with 
still higher, with still nobler, with still more enduring resolu- 
tions that we of this generation will exemplify in our lives, will 



100 ANDERSONVILLE 

exemplify in our devotion to the flag, the Union, and to hu- 
manity, the spirit which animated their faithful hearts. We 
do not understand the inscrutable mysteries of Providence; but 
we do know that we are commemorating another vicarious 
atonement, and it is well that our tears should fall here, 
consecrating its dear memories. The Republic of the United 
States had committed a mortal sin, and somewhere, somehow, in 
the plan of the Almighty, that sin must be expiated ; and it was 
expiated here, when these men laid down their lives for the 
Union, as my friend the chairman of the commission has well 
said, not inspired and cheered by the music of martial strains, 
not led on by the shriek and storm of shot and shell, but in the 
misery and the suffering of cruelty and want. Ah! as I look 
upon that pathetic memorial, erected by my beloved state, there 
ring in my ears, through forty years of time, the echoes of the 
Battle Hymn of the Republic : 

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; 
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are 

stored ; 
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift 
sword ; 

His truth is marching -on." 

And then, I think of the awful carnage of war. Three 
hundred and sixty thousand of our boys laid down their lives 
that we might stand here free citizens of the Republic. Have 
you ever thought of the wives who had shared the joys and 
sorrows of these immortal spirits, of the mothers who had 
borne them, of the maids who had loved them; have you ever 
attempted to measure the infinite sacrifice that the people of 
America made, just to see to it that not a single star in the 
azure field of Old Glory should ever fade away, and that no 
stain should ever again mar the pure colors of its beautiful 
folds? 

And then, when I think of the scenes we are so sadly recalling, 
the Battle Hymn again comes to me : 



ANDERSONVILLE 101 

"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call re- 
treat; 
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat; 
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him; be jubilant, my feet; 
Our God is marching on." 

And He did march on, until His truth was crystallized in the 
glories of a peace which preserved to every citizen of the Re- 
public the high dignities and the high privileges of independent 
manhood. 

Mr. Chairman, speaking on behalf of the state of Iowa, 
speaking on behalf of all her people, I congratulate you most 
cordially upon the beauty of the work that you have done. 
There (pointing to the monument) kneels Iowa, weeping, suf- 
fering, grieving for the sons she lost. She rests upon a column 
of enduring granite, that so long as time shall last will speak 
to generations yet to come, not only of the fortitude and the 
courage of these boys who lie buried here and who endured 
over there (pointing to the stockade) but will make them know 
that republics are not ungrateful. It will no longer be said 
that the people of a free country do not fondly remember those 
who have died that truth might live. 

I congratulate you upon the felicity of the design and upon 
the fidelity with which your commission has performed its 
work, and speaking again for the people whom you have so 
well represented, I thank you for this offering laid upon the 
altar of our patriotism. 

And now. General Carman, representing the government of 
the United States, even as our commission has placed this testi- 
monial in my hands, I deliver it into yours, knowing that it 
passes into the keeping of a government whose flag flies for all 
her citizens, without respect to condition in life, whether they 
be high or low, rich or poor, white or black. It flies for them all, 
and until freemen shall have lost the spirit which has animated 
the lovers of liberty in all the ages of the past, it will stream 
over this mansion of eternal rest, protecting and preserving 
this monument erected by the state of Iowa in loving memory 
of her beloved children who died in Andersonville. 



102 ANDERSONVILLE 

Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"My Country, "Tis of Thee" 

Acceptance for the United States Government 

General K. A. Carman 

Representing the Secretary of War 

Governor Cummins, Mr. Chairman, Ladies ^ Gentlemen: 

We are on ground hallowed and consecrated by suffering and 
death. From February 15, 1864, to late In April, 1865, the 
Union prisoners held in an open stockade in yonder field num- 
bered 49,485, living men, packed like ants in an anthill, or like 
shoals of fish in the ocean. They were young men of all con- 
ditions, boys in fact, of birth and fortune, from the store, 
factory and farm, and, with few exceptions, constituted as gal- 
lant a portion of our armies as carried our banners anywhere. 
Of these, 12,912, or more than twenty-six per cent., died and 
were buried within this enclosure. Of those who died here, 
214 were from Iowa. The average term of imprisonment was 
about four months. The greatest number at any one time was 
33,114, on August 8, 1864, and the greatest number of deaths 
was in August, when about 2,000 died, of whom 300 died in 
one day — August tenth. It is a fearful and sad record, and both 
parties to the great contest have been held responsible for it. 
With no desire to be critical, I will state some historical facts. 

Colonel D. T. Chandler, a Confederate military inspector, 
an intrepid officer, and a humane one, reported to the Richmond 
authorities early in August, 1864, that the horrors of the 
prison were difficult to describe and its condition a disgrace to 
civilization. He strongly recommended that General Winder, 
in command of the post, should be removed, and "the substitu- 
tion in his place of some one who united both mercy and judg- 
ment with some feelings of humanity and consideration for 
the welfare and comfort of the vast number of unfortunates 
placed under his control — some one at least who does not advo- 
cate deliberately and in cold blood, the propriety of leaving 
them In their present condition until the number has been 
sufficiently reduced by death to make the present arrangement 
suffice for their accommodation." This report, a fearful in- 
dictment, was sent by General Cooper, the Confederate in- 



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ANDERSONVILLE 103 

spector general, to the Confederate secretary of war, August 
28, 1864, with the endorsement that the condition of this prison 
was a reproach to the Confederacy as a nation. It is claimed 
that the Confederate government took measures to better the 
conditions, but those measures came so tardy that they ac- 
complished nothing. Some officials, and most of the southern 
press, justified the harsh and inhuman treatment meted out to 
the unfortunates in their power. On the other hand, some of 
the southern press denounced the treatment as humiliating to 
humanity and unbecoming and unworthy a civilized people who 
laid claim to being chivalrous and refined beyond all others; 
there were some in this vicinity, most of them women — God 
bless them- — whose sympathies went out to these unfortunates, 
and who ministered to the sick and spared them such delicacies 
as they could command, until forbidden to do so, and this 
womanly tenderness will be remembered, long after the names 
of those who seek to erect monuments to the memory of one 
whose cruelty was a shock to humanity shall have been for- 
gotten. 

The United States government was measurably guilty, also; 
it caused these unfortunate men to suffer, first upon a disagree- 
ment in the system of exchange, and later in accordance with 
the expressed views of General Grant, who, in a letter to Gen- 
eral Butler, the commissioner of exchange, wrote August 18, 
1864: 

"It is hard on our men held in southern prisons not to ex- 
change them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to 
fight our battles. Every man (Confederate) released on parole, 
or otherwise, becomes an active soldier against us, either di- 
rectly or indirectly. If we commence a system of exchange 
which liberates all prisoners taken, we will have to fight on until 
the whole south is exterminated. If we hold those caught they 
count for no more than dead men. At this particular time, to 
release all rebel prisoners north, would insure Sherman's defeat, 
and would compromise our safety here." (Richmond and 
Petersburg.) 

On another occasion he said : 



104 ANDERSONVILLE 

"I did not deem it advisable or just to the men who had to 
fight our battles to re-enforce the enemy with thirty or forty 
thousand disciplined troops at that time and an immediate 
resumption of exchange would have had that effect without 
any corresponding benefit." 

It was then argued, and is still contended, that from a purely 
military standpoint the policy of our government in not ex- 
changing prisoners was right; that while the Confederate pris- 
oners in Union prisons were well fed and in good condition, the 
Union prisoners in the south were ill fed, and would be restored 
to the government too much exhausted to form a fair set-off 
against the comparatively vigorous men who would be given 
in exchange; that it was less costly to feed a Confederate pris- 
oner, than to let him return to the ranks and fight, and that every 
suffering captive in southern prisons offset a fighting Confed- 
erate and was not inactive, but was virtually contribually in 
action, and those thousands at Andersonville and other points 
were really fighting the battles of their country as effectively 
as though in the forefront of battle, that those suffering, emaci- 
ated, dying men kept back from the lines confronting Grant and 
Sherman in 1864 nearly three times their number of able vet- 
eran Confederate soldiers, and, according to Grant, the very 
salvation of the country depended upon them. 

Their fate was a cruel one and their sufferings and sacrifices 
are known to every household in the land. The soldier who is 
struck down to death or wounds in battle is to be envied when 
compared with slow death by exposure and starvation. The 
soldier who fought in battle had more chances for his life and 
faced death upon but few occasions, but the battle here was con- 
stant — a daily and hourly struggle for life. The prisoner had 
nothing to inspire or encourage him, nothing but to face death 
in its most cruel form, and generally, he faced it unflinchingly. 
He looked death in the eye, and never questioned his own duty, 
nor repined against his government. He was offered freedom 
provided he should enlist in the ranks of the Southern Con- 
federacy, but he spumed liberty purchased at the expense of his 
patriotism and went to his death in obedience to his sense of 
duty to his country. Of the 188,000 prisoners taken by the 



ANDERSONVILLE 105 

Confederates, less than 3,000 accepted the conditional offer of 
liberty; of the 17,873 patients admitted to the Andersonville 
hospital, only about twenty-five accepted the offer of liberty to 
save their lives, by taking the oath of allegiance to the Southern 
Confederacy. It is a glorious record to the patriotism of these 
men who remained true to their flag and their country. The 
world's history has shown no such devotion. Most of the 
survivors of this prison have gone to hallowed graves and the 
few who remain with us have about them some evidence of their 
sufferings, but they have the consciousness of having served their 
country in the hour of its great need and of transmitting to 
j>osterity a great lesson of patriotism. Those who died here 
were not only heroes but martyrs and have left us a rich 
legacy for all time, the sublime heroism they displayed in their 
unswerving devotion to the flag they loved under whatever 
infliction or temptation, and the declaration sealed with their 
lives, that they were content to suffer and die if the interest of 
their country demanded it. A grateful country cherishes the 
memory of the noble men who suffered and died here, and for 
all time will look upon them as models of heroic devotion to the 
flag of their country, under most trying circumstances. Here 
they sank to rest; here they lie — 

"On Fame's eternal camping-ground 
Their silent tents are spread. 
And glory guards with solemn round 
The bivouac of the dead." 

More than forty years have passed, the war is fast becoming 
a memory, the intensity of feeling which existed has passed 
away, and we are again one and undivided. We have instinct- 
ively followed in the footsteps of our English ancestry, our 
"kin beyond the sea." The animosities of the most sanguinary 
of their wars, the War of the Roses, a civil war, the most 
ferocious of any in the annals of warfare, a civil war between 
brothers and kinsmen, has long since been forgotten in cherish- 
ing the memory of the heroism of both sides. The Briton 
points with pride to the heroic deeds performed under the colors 



106 ANDERSONVILLE 

of the red rose of York, and under the banner of the white rose 
of Lancaster. Each is his special pride and glory. One can 
see side by side in Westminster Abbey, the sepulchre of Eng- 
land's worthies, the broken banners and battered blades of the 
Roses, the white and the red; together are displayed the tro- 
phies of the Roundhead and the Cavalier, and the descendants of 
each "drawing in inspiration in the living present from the 
heroic past, have fought side by side a thousand battles to 
uphold the power and glory of the British Empire." So may 
it be in our beloved land, a true union on the lines of mutual 
respect, brotherly love, and a united patriotism. 

The years since the war cover a period of most marvelous 
development. The nation has grown in numbers from 33,000,- 
000 people to over 85,000,000, and in wealth from $16,000,- 
000,000 to $112,000,000,000, an increase of 700 per cent. In 
1865 we had $550,000,000 in circulation; now we have $2,750,- 
000,000 — $33.00 per capita, instead of $16.00. At the begin- 
ning of the war there were 31,000 miles of railroad in opera- 
tion; now there are 215,000. We have developed greatly in 
every direction, and in all branches of industry and endeavor. 

In this marvelous development the south has fully shared. 
The people of the fourteen southern states, in real and personal 
property, have $18,000,000,000, or $2,000,000,000 more 
than that of the nation in i860, although the population of 
the south is between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 less than that of 
the whole country just before the war. And the splendid career 
of the south is yet in its infancy; with orderly liberty its future 
is assured. Can any one doubt that, to a great degree, the 
valor, patriotism and sacrifices of the Union soldier had much 
to do with this great development of the south? He saved it 
from suicide, and preserved it to the Union. Except for his 
efforts, instead of a union of states, there would have been a 
division, and no one knows whether the area now covered on 
this continent by the stars and stripes would be now occupied 
by two central governments, or by twenty warring sections, and 
the world would never have seen the marvelous growth of the 
south, nor the commanding position that the nation now holds 
among the powers of the world. 



ANDERSONVILLE 107 

Governor Cummins, by direction of the secretary of war, and 
in behalf of the United States, whose territorial integrity and 
free institutions the men in these hallowed graves and their com- 
rades elsewhere living and dead, died and suffered so much to 
save, we accept this beautiful monument to the Iowa dead of 
Andersonville, and as long as grass grows and waters run, a 
grateful government will tenderly care for it, and the graves 
that surround it. 



Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Nearer, My God, To Thee" 

Salute . Platoon Seventeenth United States Infantry 

Benediction Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

"And now, unto thee, our God, who is able to keep us, and 
whose truth is able to build us up and keep us free, to all 
that is great and good in this life, and to a life eternal in the 
joys of a heavenly home, in the Great Redeemer's name. 
Amen." 

Taps. 



3:00 o'clock, p. m. 

Sacred Concert on the old prison grounds, at Provi- 
dence Spring. Appropriate and beautiful exercises 
were held here, consisting of brief remarks by Captain 
J. A. Brewer, chairman of the commission. Rev. A. L. 
Frisbie and Rev. S. H. Hedrix, and music by the Fifty- 
fifth Iowa regimental band. 



108 



ANDERSONVILLE 



Death Before Dishonor 

THE IMMORTAL ROLL 

Of Two Hundred and Fourteen Loyal Sons of Iowa Who 
Died While Confined in Andersonville Prison 

CAVALRY 



Name 



Austin, W 

Beers, D. S 

Beezly, N 

Billings, J. K. P... 

Cellan, J 

Chamberlain, J. B. 

Cobb, E 

Cox, W. A 

Cox,H 

Culver, W. V 

Delay, J. W 

Denoya, W. H 

Derickson, W. W. 

Estelle, D. W 

Farnsworth, S 

Harris, J 

Himes, D 

Ireland, J. S 

Jones, J. H 



Rank 



Corp. 



Sergt. 



Sergt. 
Sergt. 



Corp. 
Sergt. 



Sergt. 



Co, 



Reg't 



Name 



Junk, G. A 

King, E 

Littlejohn, L. J..., 
Loudenbeck, D. C. 

Macy, C. F 

Martin, J. B 

McCall, T. H 

Mercer, J. A 

Miller, T. J 

Pugh, A 

Rasser, A 

Richardson, J 

Smith, D 

Sutton, S 

Talbott, D. E 

Whitten, J. A 

Williams, S. H.... 
Wolfe, J. H 



Rank 



Q.M.8. 



Capt. 
Corp. 



Co. 



Reg't 



INFANTRY 



Name 


Rank 


Co. 


Reg't 


Name 


Rank 


Co. 

D 
F 
H 
B 
K 
G 
F 
E 
H 
A 
D 
E 
I 
G 
C 
D 
K 
P 
G 
F 
B 
H 


Reg't 


Aird, D 


Corp. 


G 
F 
K 
D 
C 
H 
H 
K 
K 
B 
C 
C 
H 
O 
D 
K 
G 
K 
F 
E 
B 
I 


3 

31 

3 

8 

11 

26 

15 

6 

5 

5 

14 

12 

39 

3 

11 

15 

3 

4 

12 

26 

12 

31 


Collins, H. M 

Collins, M. J 


Sergt. 


4 


Alderman, W. H.. 


3 


Allen, M 




Collins, W. H 




12 


Ames, M. A 




Cooper, S 


Corp. 
Sergt. 
Corp. 
Corp. 


5 


Ashford, A. M 




Cowles, J. W 

Cox, E. D 


5 


Baird, J. L 




5 


Barnes, A. C 


Cromwell, G. W.. 
Crow, B 


27 


Barr, W. H 




4 


Bartsche, C. P 




Culbertson, S. B.. 
Davis, H 


Corp. 


5 


Bixter, D 




17 


Boylan, C 




Davis, J 




15 


Beadel, H 




Davis, T. M 




3 


Blngman, W. H... 




Dean, J. W 




12 


Blakely, G. H 




Demotte, L 




5 


Bowles, M. B 




Denslow, F 




12U.S 


Buckmaster, F.... 




Dingman, W 




31 


Chapman, P. J 




Downer, D 




12 


Chenoweth, Wm.. 




Drlskell, S. P 




26 


Clark, D 




Eccles, F 


Lieut. 


14 


Clausen, H 




England, T 


9 


elevens, C 




Ennes, W. H 

Eubanks, C. J 


Corp. 
Sergt. 


4 


Coder, E 




17 



ANDERSONVILLE 



109 



infantry-Continued 



Name 



FerKuson, A. W... 
Ferguson, W. W.. 

Field, J. M 

Foster, S. B 

Fredericks, J. Q. A. 

Freel, J. W 

Gard, B. M 

Game, L 

Gothard, I 

Gender, J.... 

Gentle, G 

Graushoff, C 

Gray, J 

Hanson, J 

Hastings, J. B 

Heller, A 

Henson, M 

Hoisington, L. P.. 
Huffman, R. J. H. 

Hughes, Thos 

Hurley, I. B 

Jackson, L. W 

Jones, C 

Kennedy, B 

King, A 

King, C. L 

Knight, J. F 

Kolenbranden, H. 

Lambert, C. M 

Lanning, J. A 

Lathrop, M 

Lindsey, R 

Littlelohn,T. S.... 

Lord, L 

Loudenbach, I. M. 

Luther, J 

Mann, J 

Martin,: s. S 

Mason, W. H 

Maynard, I. V 

McAllister, A. P.. 
McCammon, W.T. 

McClure, Z. L 

McCoy, G. B 

McKune, J. E 

McMuUen, J 

McCuUouch, J. A. 

McNeill, J. W 

McNeeley, U 

Merchant, W 

Miller, E 

Miller, J 

Miller, F. M 

Moon, J 

Moon, James 

Moore, W. W 

Murray, J. I 

Myers, E 

Nichols, J. E 

Nash, B. E 

Noyes, C. H 

Nye, M 

O'Connor, R 

Osborn, F. L 

Overturf, G. W... 



Rank 



Sergt, 
SeVgt! 



Corp. 



Sergt. 



Corp. 
Lieut, 



Sergt 
Corp. 



Corp. 
Corp. 



Corp. 
Corp. 



Corp. 



Sergt 



Co. 



Reg't 



12 

1 

16 
17 
12 

9 
17 
39 
13 
12 
14 

5 
13 

5 

9 
16 
11 
12 

i 
U 

i 
16 

5 
11 

4 
12 

4 
14 
13 
31 

5 

5 
39 
39 
15 
17 

5 
12 
12 
12 

7 

26 
16 

5 



Name 



Palmer, L 

Peck, J. E 

Peck, S 

Peterson, J 

Philpots, C. P 

Pitts, J. W 

Putnam, O 

Ratcliffe, E 

Reeve, T. F 

Reid, R. R 

Robertson, D 

Roe, M. J 

Rogers, A 

Rule, J. T 

Russell, E. W.... 
Sackett, C. W.... 

Sayre, W. H 

Seeley, N 

Shadle, J 

Shaw, M. W 

Schrienor, T 

Sherman, J 

Smice, W 

Smith, R. T 

Smith, C 

Smith, J. W 

Smith, C 

Sparks, M. T 

Starr, C. F 

Stattler, J. N 

Stevens, A. B 

Stoneman, J. F.. 

Stout, J. C 

Symmes, W. W... 

Taylor, T. W 

Thompson, M 

Thein, A. F 

Tippery, W 

Toikelson, N 

Tormey, J 

Trussell, G. W... 

Turner, H 

Volk, J. M 

Waggener, J. B.. 
Wahlrath, C. E... 

Walker, S. J 

Ward, O. R 

Wells, F 

Whelan, J 

White, W. M 

Whitenack, A. R. 
Whitman, O. K... 

Whitmire, J 

Williams, J. D... 

Wilson, P. D 

Wilson, P 

Widows. W. H... 

Wolfe, B. F 

Wolston, S. P.... 

Woodward, J 

Wright, C. G 

Wadsworth, B... 

Young, R. S 

Young, A. B 



Rank 



Corp. 



Corp. 
Corp. 



Sergt. 
Corp. 



Corp, 



Sergt. 



Sergt. 
Sergt. 



Co, 



Corp. 
Corp. 



Corp. 



Sergt. 



Sergt 
Sutler 



Corp. 



Reg't 



9 
12 
12 
26 
31 
16 
27 

4 

9 
16 
13 
12 

4 
10 

4 
12 

5 

9 
16 

5 

6 

3 
16 
10 
26 
13 

5 

5 
30 
30 

6 

8 

5 

3 

7 

5 

3 

5 
16 
10 

6 
14 

5 

3 

5 

7 

3 

5 
26 
12 

9 

6 
14 
14 

5 
12 

8 

8 
13 

9 
12 U.S. 
12 U.S. 

8 
39 



THE STORY OF ANDERSONVILLE 



AS TOLD BY EX-I<IEUTBNANT GOVERNOR BENJAMIN F. GUE 
[Published in the Iowa State Register] 



ANDERSONVILLE, Ga., April 1 6, 1884. — In passing through 
Georgia I had determined to visit the once obscure little village 
that in 1864 suddenly acquired a notoriety that will live — asso- 
ciated with all that is most horrible in the world's records of 
"man's inhumanity to man" — as long as time lasts. Supposing 
that a place so notorious as Andersonville could be easily found, 
I had never looked for it on the map of Georgia until I started 
out from Selma, Alabama, to find it, I then discovered to my 
surprise that the "reconstructed" southern gentlemen feign to 
know nothing of Andersonville, They utterly ignore its exist- 
ence and assure you that its alleged horrors are republican lies. 
I determined to give it such a personal investigation as after the 
lapse of twenty years since its occupancy was possible. Ander- 
sonville is not to be found on any map in the south. I pro- 
cured and carefully searched, not only the railroad maps, but 
all others to be found at bookstores, and on none — not even in 
the railroad guides — can this place be discovered, although it 
is a station on the Central Railroad of Georgia. Some told 
me it was on the line between Georgia and South Carolina in 
Anderson county; others said there was no such place. But 
while staying in Montgomery, Alabama, I met Henry Booth, 
a former resident of Fort Dodge, and during the war a member 
of the Thirty-second Iowa Volunteers, He told me where to 
find Andersonville, It is a small station sixty miles south of 
Macon, in southern Georgia, and its name is now given out as 
Anderson. The "ville" has been dropped in order to better 
disguise the spot that has become a synonym for more fiendish 
barbarity, and cold-blooded cowardly cruelty than was ever 
before perpetrated by a people professing civilization since the 

fUO) 



ANDERSONVILLE 111 

■days of the thumb-screw, the rack and the faggot. Hidden In 
a swamp, half a mile eastward from the station, surrounded by 
a dense undergrowth of young pines, blackberry bushes and 
weeds, lies the twenty-seven acres of ground whose sandy 
slopes, twenty years ago, bore on their scorched sides more of 
human misery, despair, and death, in its most cruel forms than 
ever before in the world's history polluted so small a field of the 
earth's surface. It was originally covered with a heavy pine 
forest. 

Early in 1864 when the Union armies under Grant and 
Sherman were steadily fighting their way into the heart of the 
Confederacy, the rebel government ordered the removal of all 
Union prisoners farther south, and southern Georgia seeming 
to be most remote from the Federal armies, and most secure 
from invasion, was chosen as the safest place in which to confine 
the Union prisoners. No more desolate, out of the way spot 
could probably at that time have been found on a line of rail- 
road than the dense forests in the midst of swamps that sur- 
rounded Andersonville station. Slaves were pressed into the 
Confederate service to cut down the trees, hew the logs and 
erect the stockade walls. The inside row of palisades was 
eighteen feet high above the surface, the timbers of which it 
was made were firmly planted in a trench five feet deep. Within 
this inclosure was the dead line, seventeen feet inside of the 
stockade. It was made by driving posts into the ground pro- 
jecting about four feet, and upon the top of these were nailed 
2x4 scantling. Any prisoner stepping or reaching over this 
line was shot dead by the guards who were stationed in sentry 
boxes erected thirty yards apart on the inside palisades. This 
left less than seventeen acres of ground including a wide swamp 
stretching back on either side of Sweetwater Creek, which runs 
through the stockade from west to east. On the outside of the 
main inclosure was a second wall of palisades one hundred feet 
distant from the first, or inner row. Still beyond and outside of 
this, seventy feet further, was the outer wall of the stockade, 
twelve feet in height. These lines were erected for offense and 
defense. If at any time the prisoners should attack and carry 
the first line, the second and third would be almost as for- 



112 ANDERSONVILLE 

midable. The outer line was intended for defense from attacks 
by the Union army, and would shelter the guards — 3,000 in 
number. On the four angles of the stockade were erected the 
most formidable earthwork forts that I have seen anywhere in 
the south. The height from the ditches to the summit, almost 
perpendicular, must be fully eighteen feet. On these earthworks 
cannon commanded every part of the stockade, inside and out, 
so that an attack from either the prisoners or their rescuers 
would have met with a terrible artillery fire. A line of rifle pits 
was dug outside of the stockade walls for the use of infantry. 
The stockade was originally intended to hold 10,000 prisoners, 
and then enclosed seventeen acres. The creek, with its wide, 
swampy margin, and the dead line, cut out at least seven acres, 
leaving not more than ten upon which men could live. On this 
ground they were crowded until it finally became packed with 
human beings like a stockyard filled with cattle. 

When the first five hundred prisoners were incarcerated inside 
of the stockade walls in February, 1864, they found some poles 
that had been left, and with these and briars, vines and tufts 
of pine leaves, they managed to erect rude huts to shelter them- 
selves from the sun, dew and rain. But as more unfortunates 
were added week by week, not a stick was left for the new 
arrivals. Early in March the spring rains began. An inmate 
of the pen says : 

"For dreary hours that lengthened into weary days and 
nights and these again into never ending weeks, the driving, 
drenching floods of rain poured down upon the sodden earth, 
searching the very marrow of the 5,000 houseless, unsheltered 
men against whose chilled bodies it beat with pitiless monotony, 
and soaked the sand banks upon which we lay until they were 
like huge sponges filled with ice water. An hour of sunshine 
would be followed by a day of steady pelting rain drops. The 
condition of most of the soldiers who had no shelter was pitiable 
beyond description. They sat or lay on the hillsides all day 
and night and took the pelting of the cold rain with such gloomy 
composure as soldiers learn to muster. One can brace up against 
the cold winds, but the pelting of an all day and all night chill- 
ing rain seems to penetrate to the very marrow of our bones." 



ANDERSONVILLE 113 

No wood was furnished the famishing prisoners by the brutal 
officials, although there were dense forests In every direction 
around them, and with it they could have provided fires and 
huts for shelter. The only way to obtain wood was to bribe 
the guards with such trinkets as the prisoners had about them 
to bring in some sticks on their backs. The lives of the thou- 
sands who perished from disease brought on largely by exposure 
to rain, cold and heat, could have been saved if their brutal 
prison-keepers had simply permitted the prisoners to go out on 
parole and bring in wood. 

The number of prisoners in March was 4,603, of whom 283 
died, chiefly from exposure. During the month of April 576 
more died, an average of 19 a day. It became a part of the 
regular routine now to take a walk around past the gates and 
count the dead of the night before. The clothes of the dead 
were carefully preserved to cover the living, who were nearly 
naked. The hands of the dead were crossed upon their breasts, 
and a slip of paper containing the name, company and regiment 
pinned to the corpse. The lips and nostrils of the dead were 
distorted with pain and hunger. Millions of lice swarmed 
over the wasted dirt-begrimed bodies. The suffering of the 
sick from these ravenous vermin was pitiable beyond expression. 
The hot sand in May swarmed with lice that crawled up on 
the crowded prisoners like troops of ants swarming upon trees. 
A hospital (in name) was set apart for the sick in the northeast 
corner of the stockade, a few tents were pitched, with pine 
leaves for beds. But there was no change of filthy clothing, 
no nutritious food, no nursing or suitable remedies for the sick 
and dying. 

Here, without shelter of any kind, the poor sick and dying 
boys and men crouched on the hot sand, with a tropical sun 
beating down on their blistering heads and bodies, with the 
mercury often ranging above no in the shade. Here, without 
dishes of any kind to hold their scant supply of unbolted corn- 
cake and salt pork, these helpless prisoners were packed day 
and night with no water but that from the creek which had first 
received Into Its death current the filth from a camp of 3,000 
Confederate guards stationed higher up on the south bank, near 

Mon.-8 



114 ANDERSONVILLE 

the town. Disease in its most hideous forms preyed upon the 
crowded thousands, and the stench arising from the accumulat- 
ing filth, festering in the burning sun, spread pestilence among 
them on every side. In their grim despair, those who were able, 
dug holes in the ground and burrowed in them like wild beasts. 
Others, with a few tin cups and pieces of tin plates, bought of 
the guards, dug wells in a vain search for pure water. The dirt 
was drawn up in old boots, and wells were sunk in this manner 
to the depth of from thirty to seventy feet, but little water was 
found however after this toilsome work was done. 

At this time the official records show that seventy-six per cent, 
of those carried to the hospital died. By the end of May there 
were 18,454 prisoners in the stockade. The 18,454 men were 
cooped up on less than thirteen acres of dry ground. The 
weather grew hotter, and the swamp that ran through the pen 
became horrible beyond description. In its slimy ooze, which 
was the drainage of a population larger than that of Cedar 
Rapids, swarmed billions of maggots. The stench from this 
sink of corruption was stifling and deadly. 

All of the water that the prisoners had to use, for drinking 
or cooking (except a little obtained by those who had dug 
wells) was taken from this creek which flowed through the low, 
swampy valley that was the only drainage of the two camps of 
guards and prisoners, numbering more than 20,000 persons. 
In their desperation the famishing prisoners would gather at 
the dead line where it crossed the creek as it entered the stockade 
on the west side, and reach up stream to get water before it 
flowed into the filthy swamp below. John McElroy, a private 
of Co. L, of the Sixteenth Illinois cavalry, who has written a 
history of Andersonville's horrors as he saw and experienced 
them, says of these days: "I hazard nothing in saying, that 
for weeks and weeks, at least one man a day was shot here by 
the murderous guards while reaching near the dead line for 
purer water. A gun would crack — looking up we would see 
still smoking the muzzle of the musket in the hands of the 
guard, while a piercing shriek from the victim floundering in the 
creek in the agony of death, told the story of his fate." 

The number of deaths in May had increased to 708. 



ANDERSONVILLE 115 

As the summer advanced the heat became intolerable in this 
latitude, where no southern man pretends to work, or even ex- 
pose himself to the sun during midday. Yet here were cooped 
up like hogs in a pen, more than 18,000 northern soldiers whose 
only crime was loyalty to their government, and a patriotic 
desire to save it from destruction by armed foes. These men 
were from the best families in our country, the fortunes of war 
had made them the prisoners of men who claimed to be civilized, 
but at whose hands helpless captives were subjected to fiendish, 
malignant tortures that would have disgraced cannibals and the 
most barbarous of the savage tribes of Africa. The food fur- 
nished the prisoners for each man a day — ^was a cake of corn- 
bread half the size of a brick — made of unbolted meal, and 
part of the time a small slice of salt pork; once in a while a 
few beans were dealt out, but no vegetables, salt, vinegar or any 
other kind of green food except on rare occasions. The hulls of 
the meal being coarse and harsh, brought on every species of 
bowel complaints, which with scurvy and hospital gangrene, 
carried off in less than seven months 9,479 of the prisoners to 
their graves, or more men than were lost by death from all 
causes by the British army during the Crimean war. The heart- 
less old fiend. General John H. Winder, who was the willing 
tool of the rebel government in its barbarous policy of disabling 
by disease and murdering by starvation its helpless captives, 
was a renegade from Baltimore, Maryland, who had secured 
the appointment of commissary general of prisoners through the 
influence of his friend, Jeff Davis. His pedigree well fitted him 
for his malignant, cruel work. He was the cowardly son of 
the craven General W. H. Winder, who fled with his militia 
from the battlefield at Bladensburg like whipped curs and left 
defenseless the national capital to be captured and burned by 
the British army in 18 14. It was the son of this poltroon, a 
soured, sniveling, white-haired old renegade of the government 
that educated him, that in August, 1864, boasted that "he could 
point to more killed and disabled Yankees at Andersonville, 
than General Lee had destroyed with twenty of his best regi- 
ments in the field." For, says he, "look at our 3,08 1 new graves 
made in one month over in the cemetery beyond the stockade. 



116 ANDERSONVILLE 

Every one has a dead Yankee soldier in it." Henri Wirz, a 
Swiss doctor, was his equally cruel and cowardly subordinate 
who had direct charge of the stockade. He had an educated 
and refined wife, and three daughters, aged at that time respec- 
tively thirteen, fifteen and eighteen years. They lived in the 
house now occupied by Dr. Wm. B. Harrison, in which I am 
staying, and the room in which I am now writing was Wirz* 
office for several months. Here, within one hundred and sixty 
rods of the most cruel tortures — prolonged through ten months 
— ever inflicted by human beings upon their fellow men, 
this heartless foreigner lived with his wife and daughters, 
utterly indifferent to the indescribable horrors daily loading 
the air within their hearing with cries, groans and supplications 
of dying soldiers that made up a hell on earth more hideous than 
Milton ever described, or even Dante pictured. 

Dr. Joseph Jones, a distinguished Confederate surgeon of 
Augusta, Georgia, made a visit to the stockade in the month of 
August, and in his report gives the following statements : 

"In June there were 22,291, in July 29,030 and in August 
32,899 prisoners confined in the stockade. No shade tree was 
left in the entire inclosure. But many of the Federal prisoners 
had ingeniously constructed huts and caves to shelter themselves 
from the rain, sun and night damps. The stench arising from 
this dense population crowded together here, performing all the 
duties of life — was horrible in the extreme. The accommoda- 
tions for the sick were so defective, and the condition of the oth- 
ers so pitiable that from February 24th to September 21st nine 
thousand four hundred and seventy-nine died,or nearly one-third 
of the entire number in the stockade. There were nearly 5,000 
prisoners seriously ill, and the deaths exceeded one hundred 
per day. Large numbers were walking about who were not 
reported sick, who were suffering from severe and incurable 
diarrhoea and scurvy. I visited 2,000 sick lying under some 
long sheds — only one medical officer was in attendance — 
whereas at least twenty should have been employed. From the 
crowded condition, bad diet, unbearable filth, dejected appear- 
ance of the prisoners, their systems had become so disordered 
that the slightest abrasion of the skin, from heat of the sun 



ANDERSONVILLE 117 

or even a mosquito bite, they took on rapid and frightful ulcera- 
tion and gangrene. The continuous use of salt meats, imper- 
fectly cured, and their total deprivation of vegetables and fruit, 
caused the scurvy. The sick were lying upon the bare floors of 
open sheds, without even straw to rest upon. These haggard, 
dejected, living skeletons, crying for medical aid and food, and 
the ghastly corpses with glazed eyeballs, staring up into vacant 
space, with flies swarming down their open mouths and over 
their rags infested with swarms of lice and maggots, as they 
lay among the sick and dying — formed a picture of helpless, 
hopeless misery, impossible for words to portray. Millions of 
flies swarmed over everything and covered the faces of the sick 
patients, and crowded down their open mouths, depositing their 
maggots in the gangrenous wounds of the living and in the 
mouths of the dead. These abuses were due to the total absence 
of any system or any sanitary regulations. When a patient died 
he was laid in front of his tent if he had one, and often re- 
mained there for hours." 

But enough of these horrors — I only record them to show 
from Confederate authority what the Andersonville martyrs 
endured. The young generation grown up since the war, 
should know what was suffered in this prison yard by just as 
tenderly reared young men as they are themselves today. Of 
the 42,686 prisoners thrust into this infamous pen, 12,853 were 
carried out to their graves, within one year; 10,982 died be- 
tween the 27th day of February, 1864, and the 20th of October 
of that year, or in less than eight months, being at the rate of 
over 1,372 a month, or more than an average of 45 per day, 
or two each hour of the day and night. 

Reports were made each day by the Confederate surgeons 
in charge, of the appalling suffering and mortality — but the 
rebel government never raised a hand or uttered a word to check 
the horrid work of Winder and Wirz. It seemed to approve 
of this fiendish method of destroying Union soldiers. 

As I stand here today on the south slope of the old inclosure, 
where every grain of sand has been ground into the earth by the 
agonized tread of martyrs who twenty years ago were under- 
going the slow tortures inflicted by human fiends, I protest in 



118 ANDERSONVILLE 

the name of the thousands whose white headstones glisten like 
snowflakes over in yonder cemetery — against ever applying the 
word "chivalry" to the authors of such a load of crime as must 
rest for all coming ages on the rebel leaders who were respon- 
sible for Andersonville. 

During any month of that year in which these inhuman cru- 
elties were perpetrated Jeff Davis, General Lee, or the Confed- 
erate congress, or the monster Winder, could have stopped 
these horrid tortures and lingering deaths. But no word was 
spoken — no hand of mercy was ever raised by those self-styled 
scions of southern chivalry — and for their direct responsibility 
for the crimes that will for all ages make humanity shudder — 
let history brand on their seared and heartless souls the damning 
infamy of Andersonville horrors. 

The heroic martyrs who endured tortures until death came 
to their relief, and the maimed and diseased survivors who must 
carry the scars of their sufferings to their graves — here displayed 
a lofty patriotism that has never been surpassed in any age of 
the world. All through these terrible sufferings, where death 
would have been a relief. Confederate emissaries prowled 
around the stockade trying to persuade the thousands of me- 
chanics among the prisoners to accept paroles and go to work at 
their trades for the benefit of the Confederacy that was slowly 
dying for want of skilled laborers. The machinists among the 
prisoners alone could have done far more to sustain its crumbling 
walls by their skill in its shops, than a full company of soldiers 
could have done to overturn it — and yet their enduring patri- 
otism that never wavered, scorned these tempting offers of 
release from worse than Indian torture. A witness to these 
persistent solicitations says that the common reply of our loyal 
sufferers was — "No, sir! We will stay in here till we rot, and 
the maggots carry us out through the cracks of your d — d old 
stockade before we will raise a finger to help your infernal old 
Confederacy." And thus they lived and died — these heroes 
who are today forgotten by the millions of thrifty northern 
people who are absorbed in their business and pleasures, in 
happy homes, surrounded by the comforts and luxuries that the 
soldiers of the Union army twenty years ago sacrificed, even 




PLAT OF ANDERSONVILLE PRISON GROUNDS 



KEY 

1. Caretaker's House. 

2. "Providence Spring." 

3. Site of proposed National monument. 

4. Outline of purchased property. 

5. Outline of stockade enclosing prison- 

ers. 

6. Outline of outer stockade (only par- 

tially completed). 

7. "Dead Line." 

8. Confederate forts and batteries. 

9. Main fort, or "Star fort," southwest 

corner. 
10. Site of gallows where marauders were 
hung. 



TO PLAT 

11. Powder magazines in "Star fort." 

12. Site of Captain Wlrz' headquarters. 

13. Gate to roadway leading to the ceme- 

tery. 

14. Wells and tunnels dug by prisoners. 

15. Site of dead house. 

16. Entrenched camp for guards. 

17. Roadway, 100 feet wide, leading to 

railroad station. 

18. "Stockade Creek", a branch of the 

"Sweetwater." 

19. North gate of stockade. 

20. South gate of stockade. 

21. Flag staff. 



ANDERSONVILLE 119 

with their lives, amid all the horrors of war and prisons, to pre- 
serve for their countrymen. No more sublime martyrdom was 
ever endured for conscience sake, or religious freedom, in any 
age of the world — than that which filled with tortured victims 
the 12,853 graves dug in the Georgia sands of the Andersonville 

/national cemetery. 
'^ Here today as I walk among the well kept streets of this 
great city of the martyred dead, with a soft breeze from the gulf 
wafting the perfume of the wild flowers from beyond the old 
stockade, tropical birds are singing in the branches of the trees, 
and the sighing winds as they come ladened with the odor of the 
pines — are the only sounds that break the solitude of this wild 
and weird encampment of departed spirits. Here all around me 
I read the names of heroes and martyrs on the white marble 
headstones that will never be seen by the surviving friends of 
the dead who sleep beneath them. 7 On an iron tablet erected by 
a grateful government is inscribed these words: 

Rest on embalmed and sainted dead, 

Dear as the blood ye gave. 
No impious footsteps here shall tread 

The herbage off your grave. 

The whole number of graves in the cemetery is 13,701; of 
these 12,779 have names on the headstones, while but 922 are 
unknown graves. Of the dead buried here 12,853 were victims 
of the Andersonville stockade, while 848 were brought here 
from adjacent localities and laid in the national cemetery. The 
first victim of Andersonville was Jacob Swarner, of New York, 
who died Feb. 27, 1864. His headstone is marked No. i and 
his grave is the first of the long row which begins in the 
southeast corner of the cemetery. The last victim lingered here 
until November 30, 1865, ^^^ his headstone is numbered 12,- 
853 and is the last of the long rows of graves of the stockade 
martyrs. His name was John King and he, too, was from New 
York. 

Here in this silent city of the dead, on a little white marble 
slab, is the only record that tells the soldier's fate. 



120 ANDERSONVILLE 

Knowing that few from their own state would ever visit this 
secluded spot I have, through the kindness of J. M. Bryant, 
the superintendent, procured a complete roll of the Iowa soldiers 
who perished at Andersonville, and are here buried in the na- 
tional cemetery, that their names may go out in the Register to 
the thousands of homes all over our fair state, and again revive 
the memory of those who so bravely suffered and nobly died for 
us — twenty years ago. Serenely they sleep beneath the pines of 
Georgia. For twenty years the silence of desolation has brooded 
over the old stockade where they perished. The Southern Con- 
federacy, Winder and Wirz, have met their doom in death and 
lasting infamy that will for all times associate the atrocious 
crimes at Andersonville with their memory. Let them rot in 
the grave with human slavery, whose barbarous code inspired 
such fiendish horrors. But on the scroll of fame let these names 
be inscribed . They for all coming time will make an honorable 
page in the history of Iowa's martyred soldiers. (See official 

list elsewhere.) 

******** 

Twenty years have come and gone since the enactment of the 
great tragedy at Andersonville that will forever associate this 
obscure little town with horrors indescribable. The driving 
rains of twenty winters have beaten upon the sandy slopes of the 
old inclosure where was cooped up within its walls more of 
human misery than was ever before found upon an equal area 
of the earth's surface. I have traced out the three stockade 
walls by the continuous ridges of decaying palisades that mark 
the lines they occupied. On the west side many of the palisades 
have been cut down and split into rails, while most of the others 
have rotted off and lie in decaying masses on the ground. Here 
and there a fire-blackened sentinel still stands in the place as it 
was planted in 1 864. On the east side the main line of palisades 
remains in a fair state of preservation, showing the height and 
strength of this formidable wooden wall. 

The old ditch that surrounded the stockade is still plainly 
visible on the south, west, and east sides, although in places it is 
nearly filled by washing and caving in. On the north and south 
sides the timbers of the stockade have been removed in clearing 



ANDERSONVILLE 121 

up the ground for cotton planting. Two negroes with a mule 
each, were marking out the ground for the rows of cotton on the 
south side of the creek. On the north side many of the old wells 
remain in a good state of preservation. I counted over twenty 
of them ranging in depth from ten to thirty feet. Young pines, 
oaks and blackberry bushes have grown up thickly all over this 
side. The mounds and depressions where caves were dug by the 
perishing prisoners, are plainly to be seen all over this sandy 
side hill. The massive old gates at the west entrance have 
fallen down, and the owner of the land is working the timbers 
of which they were constructed into canes to be sold as relics 
of the old stockade. 

Outside of these gates on the road towards Andersonville 
are the ruins of Wirz' old bakery, where the unbolted corn- 
meal and fat bacon were cooked for the prisoners. Leading 
from the store-house at the railroad station to the stockade is 
the old corduroy road along which the teams transported the 
meal and bacon to the bakery. The ground was so swampy 
that logs had to be cut and laid side by side for a quarter of a 
mile to make a road that would bear up a team and wagon. In 
looking for relics I found a two by four scantling sticking in an 
old well, that was once a part of the "dead line." My guide 
was Dr. Harrison, who was a surgeon in the Confederate serv- 
ice stationed here during the most deadly months, to aid in 
treating the Federal prisoners in the hospital shed where so 
many thousands perished. He pointed out the various places 
of interest, and gave me many items relating to the prison- 
keeper, Wirz. 

On the west side of the stockade near the north gate is the 
noted "providential spring," that broke out one August morn- 
ing when the water in the creek had become so filthy as to be no 
longer endurable. The story as told is that one day there came 
a terrific storm of thunder, lightning, wind and rain, which 
suddenly raised the water in the creek so high as to sweep down 
the walls of the stockade on the west side where the creek enters 
the enclosure. That when the flood subsided it was discovered 
that a spring of clear, pure water had gushed out of the hillside, 
near the "dead line," which flowed from that time in such abun- 



122 ANDERSONVILLE 

dance as to supply the entire army of more than 30,000 inmates 
with pure water. Many of the famishing soldiers looked upon 
this as a direct interposition of the Almighty to save them from 
the horrors of the polluted creek. That no spring was visible 
up to this time — all the inmates of the stockade agree in declar- 
ing. That such a spring did burst from the sand of the hill- 
side, is clearly established by thousands of grateful witnesses. 
I, too, saw its clear crystal waters boil up from the white sand 
In a stream large enough to supply the city of Des Moines with 
drinking water; but not being disposed to accept the "Special 
Providence" theory without a thorough investigation, I sought 
out the oldest resident of the place, M. P. Suber, the station 
agent, who has lived here thirty-six years and asked him to tell 
me what he knew about the origin of this spring. He informed 
me that he had known the spring for more than thirty years. 
That when this region was an unbroken forest, this spring 
was a favorite resort for deer. That when the stockade was 
erected in February, 1864, the workmen in excavating the 
trench, filled up the spring so that the water oozed through the 
sand to the creek below, without rising to the surface. The 
flood that swept the stockade walls away during that terrible 
August storm, washed the earth from over the spring, and it 
again burst out clear and strong as of old. The famishing 
prisoners, knowing nothing of its existence heretofore, natur- 
ally regarded it as an especial gift for their benefit. 

The Confederate leaders have persistently sought in later 
years to excuse their inhuman conduct towards Union prisoners 
who fell into their hands, but no explanation put forth has 
ever in the slightest degree turned the withering condemnation 
of civilization aside from its universal expression of horror at 
such barbarity. The records of Wirz' trial show by Confed- 
erate testimony that there was no possible excuse for crowding 
32,000 prisoners into an open unsheltered pen, containing less 
than twenty acres of inhabitable ground. Hundreds of acres 
of well shaded dry pine woods could just as easily have been 
secured anywhere in southern Georgia. The prisoners could 
easily have been provided with plenty of wood for 
cabins for shelter, as it was standing then, and is 



ANDERSONVILLE 123 

standing now, directly adjoining the old stockade. The 
prisoners could have been always supplied with good 
pure water in abundance, which is readily obtainable all 
around the prison pen. Green corn and potatoes could have 
been provided to check the scurvy and other fatal diseases. 
Straw and pine leaves could have been procured for beds for 
the sick, and warm water for bathing could have been furnished 
at all times, and with these simple wants supplied, nine-tenths 
of the suffering, sickness and deaths would have been prevented. 

But nothing was done — absolutely nothing — that a human 
barbarian would have done to alleviate the misery of cattle 
penned up in such crowded filthy quarters, and it is impossible 
to resist the conclusion that fiendish, devilish, inhuman hate and 
cruelty, coolly planned these wholesale murders with all of their 
attendant horrors that are too atrocious to be recorded. 

On the 27th of July, 1864, when Sherman's army was 
thought to be approaching to release the dying prisoners. Gen- 
eral Winder coolly issued an order to the commander of the 
artillery on guard — that "when the Federals approached within 
seven miles of the stockade — to open on the prisoners with 
grapeshot." And this grey-headed old fiend was permitted to 
die a natural death. He dropped down in a sutler's tent Janu- 
ary I, 1865, just as he had bowed his head to ask a blessing over 
his New Year's dinner. The Andersonville prisoners say that 
he had only time to exclaim: "My faith is in Christ; I expect 
to be saved; Wirz, cut down the Yankees' rations," and then he 
expired. But Wirz, the cruel subordinate, was the only one who 
was punished for his share in the murders. When the Confed- 
eracy collapsed in April, 1865, Wirz was still living in his old 
quarters at Andersonville. Captain Noyes, of the Fourth 
cavalry, was sent to bring him into General Wilson's camp at 
Macon. When the squad rode into town they surrounded Dr. 
Harrison's house — where I am staying — and mistook the Doc- 
tor for Wirz, and was about to drag him off, when he pointed 
into the next lot west and told them "there is the man you are 
after." Wirz was quickly hustled away from his family, the 
Andersonville damning records captured with him, and was 
started to Washington. The ex-prisoners who were stationed 



124 ANDERSONVILLE 

all along his route made desperate efforts to kill him as he passed 
through, but the brutal, cowardly wretch was fortunately pre- 
served, tried, convicted and decently hung on the tenth of No- 
vember, 1865, and appropriately buried in the old capitol 
prison grounds beside Atzerodt, one of the assassinators of 
Abraham Lincoln. His wife and daughters have disappeared 
and I was unable to learn from their friends at Andersonville 
where they moved to. Wirz' old house has been burned, but 
its massive brick chimney still stands a grim monument of his 
fiendish exploits. 

In a semi-circle southeast of the flagstaff are the graves of six 
desperadoes who were hung by the prisoners in the stockade on 
the eleventh of July, 1864, for robbery and murder of their 
comrades. They were the leaders of a gang of bounty jumpers 
from the slums of eastern cities who had enlisted for large 
bounties or as substitutes for men of wealth who had been 
drafted. They were skulkers on the battlefield, and always on 
the lookout for a chance to rob their fellow soldiers. In the 
stockade they led gangs or roughs called "Raiders" in mid- 
night excursions among the sick and defenseless prisoners, 
robbing them of blankets, clothing, money or food, and often 
murdered them while asleep for the scanty possessions to be 
thus obtained. These six men, viz. : Pat Delaney, of Pennsyl- 
vania; Chas. Curtis, of Rhode Island; Wm. Collins, of Penn- 
sylvania ; John Sarsfield, of New York; Wm. Rickson, of United 
States navy, and A. Munn, United States navy, were tried as 
leaders of the "Raiders," convicted, and hung in the stockade, 

and buried separate from the other prisoners. 

******** 

The ground upon which the stockade stood should be pur- 
chased by our government and attached to the national ceme- 
tery and forever preserved, with Its old wells, its fallen timbers, 
Its earthworks, Its creek and spring, all of which in the coming 
years will be points of historic interest that should not be de- 
stroyed. 

Already the owners of the ground are leveling the earthworks, 
fining up the old wells and caves, removing the palisades and 
obliterating the landmarks that still remain, and unless prompt 



ANDERSONVILLE 125 

steps are taken for their preservation, in a few years more the 
old prison pen will have entirely disappeared and all traces of 
its existence removed to make room for the encroaching cotton- 
fields. 

Before closing this long letter, made up so largely of a recital 
of barbarities that are too horrid to dwell upon, I want to give 
my voice in the most emphatic language in favor of a long de- 
layed act of reparation — so far as our government is concerned 
— to the survivors of the rebel prison pens. Our people in their 
security, prosperity, and abundance, seldom pause in their ab- 
sorbing pursuit of wealth and pleasures to reflect upon the price 
that our private soldiers of twenty years ago paid in privations, 
wounds, diseases, and death — to purchase for us this great pros- 
perity. It is doubtful whether any soldier incarcerated in a rebel 
prison for even three months (if he survived its horrors) ever 
came out without serious and lasting injury to his health, which 
will increase as old age comes on. The sufferings and horrors 
of these months can never be realized nor adequately described 
by those who were not among the victims. The least our 
government could do to show its gratitude to the survivors who 
are rapidly passing away would be to grant a pension of honor 
to the men who endured and survived the barbarities that killed 
one out of every three of them. Beautiful national cemeteries 
have been provided for the 60,000 victims who perished by 
this fiendish system of destroying Union soldiers adopted by 
the Southern Confederacy in its desperation ; marble headstones 
mark their last resting place all through the south; green grass, 
choice shrubbery and shade trees ornament the well kept grounds 
where solid walls, iron gates, and loyal superintendents keep 
careful watch and sacred care of these silent cities of the heroic 
dead. But of the other thousands who were their comrades in 
peril and suffering and barely escaped the most horrid of deaths, 
our people and their government seem to be unmindful. We 
are voting millions to aid commerce and navigation, to erect 
magnificent buildings for federal officials; we are creating new 
offices with liberal salaries, and aiding various schemes for pub- 
lic improvements, and yet congress hesitates to enroll on the pen- 
sion lists the 10,000 or 12,000 surviving inmates of rebel prison 



126 ANDERSONVILLE 

barbarities. There is neither justice, honor, or common grati- 
tude in this long continued neglect by our prosperous govern- 
ment to recognize by suitable testimonial the survivors of the 
prison pens of the south. 



lOmANDERSOimiiE PRISON 



MONUMENT 
COMMISSION 




THE COMMISSION AND ITS WORK 



The Thirtieth General Assembly of Iowa appropriated ten 
thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting a monument at 
Andersonville, Georgia, commemorating the valor, suffering 
and martyrdom of the Iowa soldiers who were imprisoned and 
died in the Confederate prison at that place. The governor 
was authorized to appoint a commission of five members, each 
of whom must have served at least three months as a prisoner of 
war, to select the site and erect the monument. Governor Cum- 
mins appointed the following as members of the commission : 

James A. Brewer, Twenty-third Missouri infantry. 

Daniel C. Bishard, Eighth Iowa cavalry. 

Milton T. Russell, Fifty-first Indiana infantry. 

Martin V. B. Evans, Eighth Iowa cavalry. 

Winslow C. Tompkins, Twelfth U. S. Infantry. 
The commissioners met at the governor's office July 19, 1904, 
and organized by electing James A. Brewer chairman and 
Daniel C. Bishard, secretary. During the month of October 
of that year the commission visited the old prison grounds and 
selected a site in the national cemetery on which to erect the 
monument. The cemetery lies north of the old prison grounds 
and is the last resting place of the Union soldiers who died while 
confined in the prison stockade. 

The commission did not employ a sculptor to design the 
monument. In their visit to the battlefields in the south they 
noted such features of the many monuments already erected 
which to their minds could be used advantageously in the erec- 
tion of the Iowa monument considering the limited appropria- 
tion at their command. The figure of the weeping woman 
which caps the monument was suggested by a drawing by 
Thomas Nast which appeared in Harpers' Weekly during the 
war. The quotation from the Scripture which is engraved on 

(127) 



128 ANDERSONVILLE 

the south side of the die was suggested by a member of the com- 
mission who reahzed the appropriateness of the verses. After 
agreeing among themselves as to the general character of the 
monument and as to the inscriptions and decorations to be placed 
on it the commission employed the architectural firm of Proud- 
foot & Bird of Des Moines to make a drawing and determine 
the proportions of the several parts. Bids for the erection of 
the monument were asked for and the contract was let to the 
Des Moines Marble and Mantle Company for eight thousand 
one hundred and thirty dollars. 

The monument was completed January 20, 1906, at which 
time it was formally accepted by the chairman and secretary on 
behalf of the commission. It is composed of seven pieces of 
granite and stands on a concrete base three feet thick. It is 
twenty feet in height and weighs seventy-five tons. The base 
is ten feet square, while the die, or main shaft, is five by seven 
feet of polished Montello granite. Surmounting the die is the 
figure of a weeping woman. It faces the west, occupying a 
sightly place and is passed by all visitors going from the national 
cemetery to the old prison grounds. 



Inscriptions On the Monument. 

On the west die the seal of Iowa is engraved, beneath which 
are these words : 

"Iowa Honors the turf that wraps their clay. 

THE unknown. 

Their names are recorded in the archives of their country." 

On the base : 

"Act Thirtieth General Assembly." 

On the south die is engraved a water scene with overhanging 

willows and a mountain rising in the background, under which 

is engraved the following quotation from the seventh chapter 

of Revelations, sixteenth and seventeenth verses: 

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither 
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which 



ANDERSONVILLE 129 

is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them 
unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes." 

On the base : 

"God smote the side hill and gave them drink: August i6, 
1864." 

On the east die are the words "Death Before Dishonor," 
beneath which are the names, with the company and regiment, 
of one hundred and seven Iowa soldiers who died while con- 
fined in prison. 

On the base : 
"Erected A. D. 1905." 

On the north die are the words "Death Before Dishonor" 
and the names, with company and regiment, of one hundred 
and seven more Iowa soldiers who died while confined in the 
prison. 

On the base: 
"commissioners. 

"Sergeant D. C. Bishard, Co. M, Eighth Iowa cavalry, 
prisoner 9 months. 

''Corporal M. V. B. Evans, Co. I, Eighth Iowa cavalry, 
prisoner 8 months. 

''Captain J. A. Brewer, Co. C, Twenty-third Missouri in- 
fantry, prisoner 7 months. 

"Captain M. T. Russell, Co. A, Fifty-first Indiana infantry, 
prisoner 18 months. 

"Corporal W. C. Tompkins, Co. D, Twelfth U. S. infantry, 
prisoner 8 months." 



Mon.-9 



CHATTANOOGA 



Lookout Mountain 
Sherman Heights 
Rossville Ga0 



INTRODUCTORY 



The s{>ecial train left Andersonville with all of its sorrowful 
memories, early Saturday evening for Macon and Atlanta, 
reaching the latter city twenty-four hours behind schedule time. 
A reception for the Iowa party had been planned at Atlanta 
by the Governor of Georgia and the citizens of Atlanta for 
Saturday but had been abandoned because of the delay. The 
train, however, remained at the station during Sunday and 
most of the party visited points of interest in that great and 
thriving southern city and the old battlefields surrounding it. 

Monday morning the train reached that very beautiful city, 
Chattanooga, around which cluster so many sad and interesting 
memories of the war. At eight o'clock Monday morning 
the party boarded street cars and soon started for the foot of 
Lookout Mountain incline. At the crest of the mountain they 
left the cars and walked through mud and rain out toward 
Lookout Point, passing on the way the seventy-five-thousand 
dollar New York monument recently erected to the memory 
of the blue and gray. Descending from Lookout Point some 
eight hundred wood and stone steps, Lookout Mountain battle- 
field and the scene of the battle above the clouds was reached. 
Here before the celebrated Craven House stands the Iowa 
monument, and after the party had inspected and admired it, 
pausing in contemplation of the panorama of the valley and 
awed by the recollection of the heroic deeds of the boys in 
blue in this most spectacular battle of the war, the ceremonies 
of the dedication were carried out. 



After the dedication of the monument on Lookout Mountain 
the party returned to the city for lunch and at one o'clock they 
started in carriages for Sherman Heights reservation on the 
north end of Missionary Ridge. The Iowa monument at this 
point was dedicated during the afternoon. 

(133) 



134 CHATTANOOGA 

The dedicatory exercises were completed at Sherman Heights 
in time for the cavalcade, before returning to the city, to 
pass for some miles over the broad and well kept government 
boulevard in its winding way along this celebrated ridge, which 
lifts its crest hundreds of feet above the plains on either side. 

Monday evening a delightful and inspiring concert was ren- 
dered by Chief Musician Landers and the Fifty-fifth Iowa 
Regimental Band in the spacious lobby of the Reed House, 
which was enjoyed by the Iowa party and a large number of 
the citizens of Chattanooga. 



Tuesday morning carriages, automobiles and interurban cars 
were brought into requisition for sight-seeing about the city, 
up the mountain and to the more distant Chickamauga park. 

In the afternoon at one-thirty the Iowa party and a large 
concourse of people gathered around the beautiful and imposing 
Iowa monument at Rossville Gap. Captain E. E. Betts, the 
government park engineer, had here erected a beautifully dec- 
orated platform large enough to accommodate the entire Iowa 
delegation and the members of the Chattanooga Union Post 
and the Confederate Camp, who, by special invitation, attended 
in a body. During the afternoon the Iowa monument was 
dedicated. 



Tuesday evening Governor and Mrs. Cummins entertained 
the officers of the various commissions and their wives at a 
dinner served in the private dining parlor of the Reed House. 



At nine o'clock Tuesday evening the Iowa party left Chat- 
tanooga in their special train, passed around the northern point 
of Lookout Mountain and down the valley of the Tennessee 
river on their way to dedicate the Iowa monuments on the battle- 



CHATTANOOGA 135 

field of Shiloh. The train passed through Nashville about 
midnight and Johnsonville was reached the next morning. 



At Johnsonville the party left the train and boarded the 
Tennessee river steamboats, The City of Saltillo and The City 
of Memphis, and soon started up the Tennessee river for a 
one hundred and nineteen mile ride to Pittsburg Landing, the 
scene of that first great battle and victory of the west, and 
indeed of the war — the battle of Shiloh. Pittsburg Landing 
was reached Wednesday morning. 





IOWA {MONUMENT ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, 



Exercises at the Dedication of the Iowa State 

Monument on Lookout Mountain, 

November 19, 1906 



10:30 A. M. 

Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

Call to Order Captain John A. Young- 

Chairman of the Commission 

Invocation Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

of Des Moines 

*'0 Lord God Almighty, the Everlasting One, the strength 
of the hills is thine. Out of the clouds and the wrappings of 
mystery, we lift up our thanks to thee, thou who knowest the 
end from the beginning, and who seest through all our per- 
plexities. Grant, we beseech thee, this one blessing and favor, 
that what we do may be done in the right spirit and may be 
acceptable in thy sight. Here, Lord, we set up these stones — 
these monuments — testifying to our remembrance of men who 
died in the midst of their pressing duties; died in the midst 
of danger; died surrendering themselves freely for the sake of 
their common country. They offered themselves as a sacrifice 
and were consumed. We pray that there may be in the 
hearts of the American people everywhere the spirit to honor 
them, to remember thee, and to teach the children coming 
after us that all these liberties of ours have been won and pre- 
served at the price of countless sacrifices. 

"We pray that thy blessing may be with those who remain; 
who were in the strife and who survived. God be with them 
in their declining years. We pray that thy favor may be 
toward the President of the United States and the 
army and navy of the United States, and with all the 
states that are bound together in this Union. May the Union 

(137) 



138 CHATTANOOGA 

be a permanent one. May there not be any of the stars or any 
of the stripes erased from our flag. May we know how to be 
one strong, abiding people, building ourselves up and fortifying 
ourselves in justice and righteousness and truth, testifying to 
the divine goodness to our land. 

"Let thy blessing rest upon us and upon our broad domain. 
May freedom be preserved. May all righteous government be 
perpetuated, and thy great name be glorified in a just and faith- 
ful and industrious people. Accept our thanks for thy good- 
ness. Teach our hearts to reverence the things that are worthy 
of reverence. Help us to choose the things that are good, and 
with all our courage and all our strength to pursue the things 
that are right. 

"Hear our prayers, and abide with us, in the name of Christ, 
our Lord. Amen." 



Address Colonel Alonzo Abernethy 

Ninth Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We gather today, on this one of a thousand battlefields, 
where "far-away feet grew beautiful as they hastened to duty, 
and halted in death." A distant commonwealth has set apart 
a quarter of a million dollars to erect memorials on old battle- 
fields, and commissioned its chief magistrate and other officials 
to journey hither two thousand miles for their dedication. 
What is the purpose of these expenditures and ceremonies ? To 
honor devotion, endurance and sacrifice? Yes, and more. To 
promote the cause of humanity, and the betterment of posterity. 
In April, 1861, a young Boston clergyman preached a stirring 
patriotic sermon. His mother, who lived in the south, wrote 
him to ask if he was called to preach the sword, rather than to 
preach the gospel. His laconic answer was, "My dear mother, I 
am called not to preach the sword, but to use it. When this 
government tumbles, look amongst the ruins for your son." That 
was the spirit of American patriotism in 1861, both north and 
south. 



CHATTANOOGA 139 

Can we believe that the sentiment of devotion to liberty, of 
love of country, of affection for the old flag, has suffered any 
decline in these later days? I can not. They are as old as the 
human family, as imperishable as the race. The institutions 
of a country may be hateful, yet her children will love her; will 
fight for her integrity. But it was reserved for America to 
illustrate a new patriotism in the earth; and we may be here 
today, giving a new exhibition of fraternal feeling and patriotic 
purpose. 

Our forefathers, in their first great struggle, exhibited a 
patriotism that was more than patriotism. A new voice was 
speaking in the councils of the American Revolution. It was 
a voice of no great volume, but it had a portentous meaning. It 
was a daring challenge from a struggling band in the new world, 
to the venerable and mighty governments of the old. It rang 
out the starthng proposition that, "governments derive their 
just powers from the consent of the governed, that when any 
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is 
the right of the people to alter or abolish it." It was this 
voice that inspired the men and women of 1776 in their pro- 
found struggle for individual and national liberty and justice. 
This was America's first great achievement and her first lesson 
in civic righteousness to the old world. 

Our forefathers saw, indeed, the light of a great principle, 
but their vision was not yet quite clear. It failed to penetrate 
the labyrinths of some long hidden truth. The principle was 
correct in its enunciation, but not in its application. They 
said that all men should be free ; but they agreed to hold some 
men in bondage. In the nature of things, that principle had to 
be restated, and its application extended, even though it must 
cost the voluntary sacrifice of a half million patriots, in a cruel 
war, to save the old Union on the old basis. The revolution 
taught the world that governments derive their just powers 
from the consent of the governed. The civil war taught 
that a free people cannot permit any part or class of their num- 
ber to suffer oppression or wrong. It was a costly lesson, but 
it had to be learned; and America, both north and south, and 
all humanity, are the better for its learning. 



140 CHATTANOOGA 

Again at the beginning of the Spanish American war, for 
the third time, our country was convulsed with a deep sense 
of wrong. What was the meaning of that profound emotion 
that set the nation again on fire, that reached out to the farthest 
hearth-stone, and moved alike, young and old, rich and poor, 
citizen and statesman, all sections, all parties, all classes, and 
all faiths? It was none other than the cry of humanity. A 
neighboring people were suffering untold wrongs. We had 
pleaded for thirty years in vain for their abatement. They 
had become insufferable. It literally compelled our countrymen 
— the whole of them — to subordinate all considerations of 
propriety, of cost, or of sacrifice. This universal conviction 
brought instantly 60,000 free men to arms. They were not 
merely the soldiers of this Republic, but of all mankind. Many 
times 60,000 stood ready to enter into this contest for hu- 
manity. Our country was again plunged into the midst of the 
sublimest movement of the ages. It was an advance movement 
of the army of civilization. It swept forward alike President 
and people, "we were but the instruments of heaven; our work 
was not design; but destiny." "God moves in a mysterious 
way. His wonders to perform." 

This far cry of humanity to right a wrong more than accom- 
plished its purpose. It delivered the suffering people of Cuba 
from Intolerable wrong and oppression. It re-united our own 
people as no other event could have done, possibly, for a 
century to come, the south actually leading In carrying the old 
flag amidst the thickest hail of shot and shell. It again made 
the stars and stripes the Idol of a re-united American people. 

"On the folds of our loved and cherished Old Glory, 
American patriots in the crises of time. 
Have engraved in gilt letters the marvelous story, 
Of valor unequalled and of manhood sublime." 

This brief and comparatively bloodless Spanish-American 
war achieved greater ends than these even. It taught the world 
to respect American power and American purpose. The results 
of that insignificant struggle with a European power, made It 



CHATTANOOGA 141 

imf>ossible for any power or combination of powers to again 
unite to compass the defeat of a people anywhere in a heroic 
struggle for self-protection or for existence. 

It cost both blood and treasure as all former struggles had 
done, as all struggles for right and humanity must ever do, but 
great as was the cost, greater yet was the gain, alike to ourselves 
and to humanity. 

Shall the new century bring like new achievement for Amer- 
ican manhood? Opportunity was never greater; the need of 
it never so apparent, in the growing volume and power of 
wealth, of combination, manipulation, intimidation, and the like ; 
in the enormous power of the press for both good and evil. 

Can anything stem the tide of American industrial ambition, 
and greed for wealth and power, the portending menace of our 
time? Only alert and honest manhood. Only if successful 
appeal can be made to the spirit of 1776, 1 861, and 1898. Only 
if public and official service can be made what the term implies, 
service for the public or for others, rather than opportunity 
for personal gain. 

If when a state dedicates a score of conspicuous monuments 
to the memory of heroic service in the past, it could in the same 
act, inspire its statesmen and leaders to dedicate their lives to 
unselfish and lofty service, the problem of American civil service, 
and industrial combination and accumulation would be solved. 

This modest shaft, like every other of its kind, is essentially 
a record of glorious manhood, displayed here and elsewhere; 
on battle field, picket line, and weary march; in bivouac and 
camp and hospital; or away yonder in the quiet of the anxious 
and sorrowing home. 

May the memory of these memorials, for a thousand years, 
inspire the same spirit of unselfish devotion and lofty manhood. 

Who knows if this new movement animating alike peoples 
and states, east and west, north and south, to honor sturdy man- 
hood, the heritage of all men, in these bronze and granite 
memorials on former fields of heroic contest, may not culminate 
in a fourth and superb expression of the brotherhood of man, 
preparing our country for its greater mission, at home and 
abroad. 



142 CHATTANOOGA 

Then will Bartholdi's colossal statue, yonder in New York 
harbor, with its uplifted torch, shining out three hundred feet 
above the pedestal, continue to proclaim its glorious mission to 
the people of the whole earth: "Liberty Enlightening the 
World." 

"Build me straight, O worthy Master! 
Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel, 
That shall laugh at all disaster. 

And with wave and whirlwind wrestle. 

****** 

In the ship-yard stood the Master, 

With the model of the vessel, 
That should laugh at all disaster. 

And with wave and whirlwind wrestle ! 

****** 

Sail forth into the sea, O ship! 

Through wind and wave, right onward steer! 

The moistened eye, the trembling lip. 

Are not the signs of doubt or fear. 

****** 

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State ! 
Sail on, O Union, strong and great ! 
Humanity with all its fears, 
With all the hopes of future years. 
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!" 



Address General James B. Weaver 

Mr. Chairman, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We are standing on an historic spot. We may never see it 
again. It is famed in legend, poetry and song, but it will 
chiefly be known to after ages as the scene of one of the most 
sanguinary conflicts of our civil war. Do you realize, ladies 
and gentlemen, that you are now standing where the earth was 
literally red with human blood? This was the scene, right 
here, of perfiaps the severest fighting on this mountain. At the 



CHATTANOOGA 143 

peach orchard there (pointing), were Walthall's headquarters, 
and they were protected by the chivalry and the flower of the 
Confederate army. Our army literally swept over not only 
this part of the field, but over the mountain, along its sides, and 
down its sides, and on to its summit. Vicksburg was the Con- 
federates' impregnable position, they said, and Lookout Mount- 
ain their Gibraltar. They said it never could be taken, and I 
heard a Confederate say one day that he was on the side of the 
mountain when an Iowa regiment was sweeping like a torrent 
over the field, and so impetuous was their charge that he hid 
behind an immense rock, and after they had swept by he came 
out, pulled off his hat, and shouted, "How are you, Gibraltar?" 

There was nothing that was impregnable to the Union 
armies; nothing that was impregnable to Iowa soldiers. In all 
the round of that tremendous sanguinary war, I am proud to say 
that the sons of Iowa who lived within the domain of that 
territory (pointing to the map of Iowa carved upon the monu- 
ment) — that imperishable map graven in the rock — no soldier, 
no part of the army, surpassed the Iowa boys in valor and in 
devotion to the flag. 

I remember well when we received the "Gate City," with the 
dispatch that Lincoln had called for 75,000 volunteers. We 
formed a company that day. We did not wait; did not stand 
upon the order of our going, but enlisted that day, and offered 
ourselves to the first Iowa regiment. 

Now, as to the motives of those who answered the call. You 
know — you comrades all know it, but the young men and young 
women listening to me may not know it. I want to tell you 
that we knew nothing of compensation, and cared less. We 
simply went, and laid ourselves upon the altar of our country, 
and said, "Here, take us." Now, you know what that meant. 
It meant, if we were successful in going through the war, a long 
and tedious service. It meant that we had to encounter the 
disease and privation incident to camp life, and the probability — 
almost certainty — of being either wounded or slain. If 
wounded, to be a cripple for life. And yet, with all these facts 
pressing upon our minds, the young men of the whole country 
said, "Life is worth nothing to us if the Union cannot be saved." 



144 CHATTANOOGA 

Now we are a united people, a loving people, and may we 
ever remain such. When the war was over, hatred was gone 
from my breast. Why, it never was there. I would give a 
Confederate soldier a cup of my coffee or a piece of my hard- 
tack as quickly as I would to a Union soldier if he needed it. 
I remember at Donelson, the Confederates were drawn up in 
long lines near my regiment. As we went by them, one of the 
men said, "Are you from Iowa?" "Yes." "Is there a man by 
the name of Smith in your regiment?" "Yes." "Well, he is 
my cousin." And all the way down the line, they cheered Old 
Glory. And when Grant said "Take the flag," and the Second 
Iowa took it and put it upon the ramparts and gave nine cheers 
to the flag, the Confederates, thousands of them, cheered Old 
Glory just as we did. 

Now, another thing to show you the spirit of these Union 
soldiers. Why, bless you, they had religion. Grant said to 
the Second Iowa, after we had marched into the citadel, "Drive 
out the Confederates from those cabins." Do you suppose our 
boys drove them out? Why, no. They said, "Johnny, don't 
go," and in fifteen minutes the Union soldiers and the Confed- 
erate soldiers were eating their rations together and playing 
cards for sport, chatting, laughing and loving one another. 

"A new commandment I give unto you," said the Lord, 
"that you love one another." 

I am glad to be here this morning. I feel as though I could 
go through another campaign. I would enlist just as I did 
then. This is one of the red letter days of my life. We now 
come down from Iowa 140 strong, but we came down here 
80,000 strong in the sixties. God bless Iowa. God bless our 
people. God bless the men who have had charge of honoring 
the dead by erecting these monuments. May their lives be long, 
prosperous and happy. I thank you. 



CHATTANOOGA 145 

Music Pifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

Address Henry A. Chambers 

of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a Confederate Soldier 

Mr. President, Old Soldiers, Governor Cummins, Ladies and 

Fellow Citizens of Iowa : 

The Confederate Veterans of N. B. Forrest camp at Chatta- 
nooga, accepting your courteous invitation In the spirit in which 
It was given, have commissioned me as their representative to 
be present with you on this occasion. 

No intimation has been given me, you or them as to what I 
should say or what line of thought I should pursue. I am there- 
fore free to follow my own inclinations. But I am sure all true 
Confederate soldiers are in full sympathy with the purposes 
which brought you here today. Two of the redeeming traits of 
our poor human nature are admiration for real heroism in the 
living and reverence for the memory of the dead — the dead 
who acted well their part in life. 

It would be no credit to the Confederate soldiers who made 
defense on this historic spot forty-three years ago, if the six 
Iowa regiments, the Fourth, Ninth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, 
Thirtieth and Thirty-first Infantry and the First battery of 
artillery, had not, with their fellow partisans, performed well 
their soldierly duties on that misty twenty-fourth day of No- 
vember, 1863. 

And no brave soldier who faced and fought their bold attack 
on that day regrets to see the memory of their deeds kept fresh 
by this Impressive monument. It is right that Iowa should thus 
perpetuate the memory of her soldiers, and it Is not improper 
that their former foes should be represented in these solemn 
ceremonies. 

In the minds of the survivors of that battle, here present, 
this place and occasion must revive with vividness the stirring 
scenes of that fateful day. Though bearing the weight of many 
added years, and though their minds are filled with the distant 
and peaceful scenes of nearly half a century, they must, never- 
theless, here and now, recall the keen excitement with which, 
in mist and fog that day, they moved they knew not whither 

Mon.-lO 



146 CHATTANOOGA 

nor against what odds, while the loud clamor of battle, the 
booming cannon, shrieking shells, rattling musketry, whistling, 
deadly bullets, words of stern command and tumultous yells of 
defiance and encouragement, filled and fretted the heavy air 
around and above them. 

And well may the recollection of that day of heroic strife 
cause them to feel again in their aging blood the tingling touch 
and warmth of youth; for history holds no parallel to the 
mighty struggle of which this battle here formed a part. 

It was, as General Boynton said, "our war" — a war which 
exhibited, as at Chickamauga, "grand, awe-inspiring, magnifi- 
cent fighting" — which caused that brave Union officer, when he 
recalled what he termed "the unsurpassed Confederate fighting" 
he saw at Chickamauga, to say that in his heart he "thanked 
God that the men who were equal to such endeavors on the 
battlefield were Americans." It was indeed our own home war 
— a war of Americans against Americans — conducted as only 
Americans could. While the ranks contained some foreigners, 
substitutes, hirelings and conscripts, yet it was a war almost 
entirely between the best American citizens, who displayed, not 
the brutal bravery of the bully, the craze of the fanatic, the 
sodden, sullen indifference of ignorant, driven masses or the bit- 
terness of national or race antagonism, but that highest type of 
human courage, born of intelligent opinion, accompanied by a 
full sense of danger and responsibility, and sustained by a set- 
tled determination, live or die, to stand for principle. 

I have heard some excellent men, who were splendid soldiers 
in that great contest, say they wanted to forget that war and all 
its scenes. But, for myself, while glad to shut out of my mem- 
ory, if I could, the horrors of the war, yet since the war had 
to be, I am proud to have been one of the many thousands who 
helped to make history in those four stirring and eventful years, 
when so much heroism and sacrifice for principle were displayed. 

Nevertheless, peace would have been better. Those who now 
talk of the war on public occasions are apt, in their enthusiasm, 
to forget that notwithstanding its glories, war is one of the worst 
of human scourges. A distinguished and able man and a former 
soldier from the north recently made a speech in Chattanooga 



CHATTANOOGA 147 

on the results of the war in which he attributed to the triumph 
of the Union arms, practically, all the present unprecedented 
prosperity of the country after over forty years of peace. The 
logical lesson to be drawn from that and similar speeches is, that 
if a country wishes to prosper one of its stronger sections should 
devastate the other, kill its men, or disable them by wounds and 
disease, widow its wives, orphan its children, destroy its homes 
and all accumulated property, as war must do, and turn the 
discouraged remnant of the population out to begin anew the 
struggle of life in the most primitive or worse than primitive 
conditions. He is not alone in attributing to war the beneficent 
results of i>eace. Others have done and are still doing the same 
thing. They forget, or neglect to state, that the country has 
prospered, not because of, but in spite of the tremendous destruc- 
tions of the war and the heavy, lasting burdens it imposed. 
They ignore the fact that it was Almighty God and not the 
armies of men that furnished the prime elements of our great- 
ness, the land and water and air, the climate, the sunshine and 
shower, the mighty forces of steam and electricity, the varying 
seasons, the exhaustless wealth of material on and in the num- 
berless valleys, limitless plains and countless hills and mountains 
of this great country, and, withal, gave to man the power of 
thought, strength of muscle, energy of spirit and indomitable 
pluck that took hold of these powerful agencies, and notwith- 
standing the devastations of the war, developed them into this 
great prosperity. They ignore the fact that if the lives and 
means that were lost, had been saved, and if the enthusiasm, 
energy and skill and money and resources devoted during the 
four years of war to purposes of destruction, had instead been 
in peace, then and since, devoted to purposes of production 
and construction, the country, in all probability, would have 
reached its present marvelous prosperity fully a generation ago, 
and would now be fully a generation ahead. 

Glorious as are the events and recollections of that mighty 
struggle, we should not magnify them beyond reason, though 
the temptation is great to an old soldier, especially on the win- 
ning side, to do so. 



148 CHATTANOOGA 

They need no magnifying. The plain and simple facts fur- 
nish glory enough to both sides for one generation and for all 
time to come. No human actions can ever surpass them. An 
irreconcilable conflict of opinion had arisen among the American 
people. In the providence of God it had to be settled by the 
fearful ordeal of war. The ability of its previous discussion 
has never been excelled. The spirit and force of the struggle 
that followed have never been equalled. 

Iowa did her full share on her side of the conflict. Her 
soldiers measured up with those of her sister states of the north. 
And here, on this rugged mountain side, they did brave battle 
for their cause. And here where peerless Point Lookout stands 
guard forever, let this beautiful monument, erected by Iowa's 
sons, preserve the memory of their martial deeds, "till time and 
tide shall be no more !" 



Address ......... Albert B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission, Ladies and 

Gentlemen: 

The faithful follower of Mohammed counts himself espe- 
cially fortunate if once during his whole life he is permitted to 
walk the weary way to Mecca, and there kneel before the tomb" 
of the Prophet. He is reinspired in his faith, reinforced in his 
strength, as he draws from this fountain of religion his lessons 
for the future. My dear friends, it seems to me that we ought 
to congratulate ourselves in that we have been permitted to 
make this pilgrimage to the shrine of the brave boys who, more 
than forty years ago, wrought deeds so valorous upon these 
heights and upon this historic spot. We are here to honor them, 
but in honoring them we will strengthen ourselves. What they 
did has been written in the annals of a grateful country; it has 
been carved into the enduring granite and moulded into the 
imperishable bronze. Let us resolve that their spirit and their 
purpose be graven deep upon our hearts as we turn to duties 
yet before us. 



CHATTANOOGA 149 

I was much Impressed with the sentiment so beautifully ex- 
pressed by my friend, Colonel Abernethy, one of the members 
of this commission. It was hard to climb these heights in the 
face of hostile guns. It was hard to preserve courage and 
fortitude in the midst of the fearful carnage of this assault; but, 
my friends, peace has its perils as well as war, and I have often 
thought that it was a little harder to be a patriot in time of peace 
than it was to be a patriot in time of war. This great country 
demands now the highest type of citizen, just as it demanded 
forty years and more ago the highest type of soldier, and we 
ought, as I doubt not we will, consecrate ourselves anew, as we 
gather to sing the praises of the boys of 1861. We ought to 
make a deeper and firmer resolution that we will be as faithful 
to the things committed to our hands as they were to the things 
designed for them to do. And in that thought, it seems to me, 
lies the great value of these dedications. I think, both north and 
south, we will turn away from this beautiful shaft determined to 
do better and to live better for the country for which these 
heroes fought, and for which many of them died. 



Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 




IOWA MONUMENT ON SHERMAN HEIGHTS 



Exercises at the Dedication of the Iowa State 

Monument on Sherman Heights, 

November 19, 1906 



2:30 P. M. 

Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

Call to Order Captain John A. Young 

Chairman of the Commission 

Invocation Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

Des Moines, Iowa 

"O, God Almighty, thou alone art great. We, thy chil- 
dren, deriving our lives from thee, our aspirations and our 
hopes from thee, fancy sometimes that we are great, and we 
cultivate our pride and our self-sufficiency, believing that we 
accomplish great things in the world; but, Lord, we bow down 
before thee today and acknowledge that thou art indeed over 
all, the mighty God in whom we believe, under whom we live 
and by whose guidance we are sustained. 

"We come here today to set apart these monumental stones in 
memory of those who gave themselves in earlier days that they 
might roll back the tide of revolution; that they might preserve 
an untorn flag; that they might preserve in this land the glori- 
ous inheritance of American citizenship. 

"Lord, we pray thee that their devotion and their sacrifice 
may not be in vain, and that we may ever be a people worthy 
of such heroes as those who died in our defense. Let thy 
blessing be upon our people everywhere. Grant to us prosperity 
with righteousness and justice, so that we may enter into the ful- 
filling of the unfinished work which these brave boys began. So 
may we do our part in preserving for the ages to come a govern- 
ment by the people, of the people, for the people. Accept our 
thanks, O Lord, for thy guidance, support and instruction. 
God grant our prayer, and save the United States of America. 
Amen." 

(151) 



152 CHATTANOOGA 

Address Captain Mahlon Head 

Tenth Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen of the Commission, Governor of 

Iowa, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

For your information, I wish to say that I am not used to 
speaking in the open air, or anywhere else for that matter. I 
am here as one of the survivors of the struggle which occurred 
at this place some forty-three years ago. 

On our itinerary, we have dedicated several monuments. We 
have listened to addresses and eulogies by men who can speak 
better than I, and I am inclined to let well enough alone; 
therefore what I have to say will have to be in another direction. 
I do not care to repeat what you have already heard, or to tire 
you with statistics, or with recorded history, because I know your 
time is precious. 

It seems to have been the custom to erect monuments in the 
past. These monuments stand as milestones in the history of 
the world. We cannot but see that its history is made up of the 
histories of wars. I have often thought, "What if there had 
been no war?" What if all the property that was destroyed 
in war had been left intact? What if all the treasures that have 
been squandered and all the energy that was wasted or lost had 
been turned into the usual channels of life, — what would be 
the condition of the world now? It seems to me, ladies and 
gentlemen, that life is entirely too short to be abridged in this 
way. It seems to me that when mother earth surrenders to us 
her wealth, her material supplies, with such reluctance, that be- 
fore we can call them our own we are compelled to get them by 
the sweat of our brows, the waste of supplies and the destruction 
of material wealth in war seems to me to be the height of folly; 
but it seems, in the economy of God, that somehow or other war 
is at times inevitable. It seems to me, however, that in this 
twentieth century we have come to a place and a time when we 
ought to be able to evolve some method whereby we could 
settle all our differences between man and man, between men and 
corporations and nations, in some peaceable way. Certainly, 
with the intelligence of this age, with the experience of all the 
past, we ought now to be able to formulate some plan, and 



CHATTANOOGA 153 

adhere to it, to see that no more military force is called into 
requisition to settle our difficulties. 

It seems to me, as one of the survivors of the struggle which 
occurred here some forty-three years ago, that after listening 
to so much of what we did for our country, that it would be 
proper for us to remember what the good people of Iowa did 
for us. They have heard much of what we have done for 
them. I want to say that from the very moment that we en- 
listed in 1 86 1 until the war closed, we had the sympathy and 
the encouragement of all the loyal people of the state of Iowa, 
in every manner and at every time that it was possible for them 
to extend it. When we entered the United States service, we 
agreed to submit to military law, thus surrendering, partially 
at least, our liberty, and we agreed to do the duties of the 
soldier. It is not necessary for me to enlarge upon that. We 
finally, at the end of four long and weary years, accomplished 
our purpose. We returned to our homes in Iowa, and contrary 
to the expectations of some, when we laid down our arms we 
unostentatiously stepped into our places in civil life, just as 
though we had stepped out a few hours before. When we 
returned home, we found that the people of our state had ap- 
proved our work. We heard the welcome words, "Well done, 
thou good and faithful servants." 

Since the war, in every way that the state of Iowa could 
possibly relieve the burdens upon our shoulders, or extend to 
us their sympathy, by any kindly token, they have done so. 
We want, here and now, to publicly acknowledge that the state 
of Iowa has always accorded us the most generous treatment. 
In nothing have they lacked, and I feel today like returning 
my thanks, and sending a message home that we are not unmind- 
ful of these favors; that we, the old soldiers, who are nearing 
the end of life's journey, are not ungrateful for their many 
kindnesses toward us. 

(Here the speaker narrated some of his personal experiences 
in the battle near the point at which the monument stands.) 

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for the kind 
attention you have given me. There are three splendid speakers, 
with voices stronger than mine, who will address you, and I 
know you will be glad to hear them. I therefore yield to them. 



154 CHATTANOOGA 

Address Hon. N. K. Kendall 

of Iowa 

Mr. President: 

It is first my pleasant duty to render acknowledgment of 
this generous greeting. I esteem it a very distinguished honor 
to be assigned even an informal and subordinate office in these 
impressive exercises. It is difficult for me to understand why I 
have been invited to this occasion. The heroic men, living and 
dead, who earned immortality here, represent the militant age 
of the Republic; an age which produced Lincoln and the trusted 
counsellors in whom he confided, which produced Grant and the 
faithful generals who obeyed his orders, which produced the 
countless hosts of that grand army, ready and eager for the 
strange sacrifice of blood by which the emancipation of the 
slave and the perpetuity of the Union were secured, while I 
belong to a generation bom long after the civil war was ter- 
minated in a blaze of glory at Appomattox. It seems, therefore, 
almost a profanation for me to appear here merely to say things 
on this historic spot where they actually did things. The pres- 
ence here this afternoon of this distinguished company from 
Iowa, her Chief Executive, her eminent men, her beautiful 
women, is not casual or accidental. It is in pursuance of the 
studied design of our beloved commonwealth to recognize by 
appropriate memorials upon all the fields where her sons were 
engaged, the bravery and valor and endurance which they there 
exemplified. We have journeyed here from our far northern 
home to certify that the spirit of patriotism which inspired 
our soldiers to enlist in the volunteer service in 1861, actuates all 
our people now to embalm their unrivalled deeds in the amber 
of memory; to establish that love of country is still grandly 
predominant, and that the sainted old heroes who followed 
Grant and Sherman and Sheridan and Logan and McPherson 
to victory, are enshrined deep in the affections of all the loyal 
sons and daughters of Iowa ; and to reconsecrate ourselves anew 
to the proposition that government of the people, by the people 
and for the people shall not perish from the earth. 

However, it may be in other sections of our common country, 
in the imperial commonwealth from which we come we believe 



CHATTANOOGA 155 

that every man who volunteered to rescue the grandest flag 
in all the skies from dishonor is entitled to most generous recog- 
nition from his grateful government; that every man who sur- 
rendered his life that we may live must be enrolled with the 
redeemed host on high ; that every man who endured a thousand 
deaths at Andersonville must be immediately admitted into the 
most transcendant ecstasies of the New Jerusalem. And in the 
sweet gloom of this November day, out of the fullness of an 
overflowing heart I declare that remembering all the triumphs 
of my country's past, enjoying all the blessings of my country's 
present, anticipating all the splendors of my country's future, 
I have more profound pride in this consideration than in any 
other: that in the days of his youth and health and strength 
my own father, now gone to his long reward, was a faithful 
private soldier in the historic war for the Union. 

The awful days when men with muscles of iron and nerves 
of steel fought and bled and died on this hallowed ground 
have passed into history. More than four decades have elapsed 
since the last gun was fired in the fratricidal conflict. We as- 
semble now not so much to reflect honor upon the men whose 
bravery and valor and loyalty here contributed to preserve the 
integrity of the Republic, for throughout all the ages their 
honor is complete, as to appropriate to ourselves the invaluable 
lessons which their inspiring example imparts. We come to 
gather renewed devotion to the great cause for which they of- 
fered the last full measure of devotion. And if my feeble voice 
can reach the great state from which we come, I appeal to its 
young men and young women to look to the past for the patri- 
otism displayed upon a thousand battlefields. I appeal for 
a higher, a broader, a deeper consecration to the public service, 
that the sacrifices suffered by those who battled here shall not 
have been in vain. 



156 CHATTANOOGA 

Music Pifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

Address Captain J. P. Smartt 

of Chattanooga. Tennessee 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades of the Blue 

and the Gray: 

After the lapse of nearly forty-three years since the memo- 
rable conflict on this historic ground, we are assembled to dedi- 
cate this beautiful and enduring memorial, — provided by the 
munificence of the grateful people of the great state of Iowa 
to the valor of her sons who fought on this field, and to the 
intrepidity of the American soldier. 

It is a source of keen regret that the states which furnished 
the troops that occupied the line of defense on this part of the 
field have not seen proper to erect suitable memorials to per- 
petuate their prowess so conspicuously displayed on that occa- 
sion, but the logic of the situation teaches, that there must have 
been a defense, or there could have been no conflict. The battle 
of Missionary Ridge, so far as I am aware, was the first general 
engagement in which the Army of Tennessee fought behind a 
rude and imperfect barricade of stone and logs; up to this time 
it had been considered discreditable to seek shelter of any kind, 
but the repeated repulses sustained by the assaulting lines of the 
right wing at Chickamauga, entaihng a loss of nearly fifty per 
cent, including three brigade commanders. General Helm, 
Deshler and Colonel Colquit, in attacking the fortified lines of 
General Thomas, convinced General Bragg and his subordi- 
nate officers of the utility of defensive works, and as the division 
of General Cleburne was perhaps the heaviest sufferer, he was 
quick to profit by his experience, and constructed on this line 
the best protection possible with the limited time and imple- 
ments at his command; but it was near midnight of the 
twenty- fourth, that he was informed of General Bragg's decis- 
ion to maintain his position on the ridge the following day; an 
eclipse of the moon and a heavy fire of the enemy's artillery 
as soon as light appeared, prevented any defensive works what- 
ever in front of the battery on Tunnel Hill. General Cleburne 
was not only a stubborn fighter, but also a practical engineer, 



CHATTANOOGA 157 

and when his division, composed from left to right of the 
brigades of Smith's Texas, Govan's Arkansas, Lowry's Ala- 
bama and Polk's Tennessee, had been formed for battle, each 
brigade from right to left had both a front and cross fire on the 
attacking lines of the enemy, and in the position of his left 
brigade, with one regiment facing west, and two to the north, 
covering Tunnel Hill, two brigades and a battery commanded 
the approach on the north front. General Cleburne in his 
official report says: "On top of Tunnel Hill a space was left 
clear of infantry, and Swett's battery of four Napoleon guns 
commanded by Lieutenant H. Shannon was placed. At a point 
about sixty yards northeast of the right of Mill's regiment 
Smith's line recommenced, but instead of continuing north it 
ran but slightly north of east down the side of the hill for the 
length of two regiments. This formation made the angle on the 
apex of Tunnel Hill, where Swett's battery was planted, the 
weak point in Smith's line, but it secured Smith's flank by 
throwing his extreme right back within two hundred yards of 
Govan's left, bringing the latter officer's line nearly at right 
angles to his north front, thus enabling each line to assist the 
other if attacked." Thus formed and later supported by the 
brigades of Brown, Cummings and Maney and Key's battery. 
General Cleburne received the daring and persistent assaults of 
the enemy. 

It is not my purpose to enter into a detailed description of 
this day of bitter fighting, nor to criticise the action of your 
commander. General Sherman, but those of us who participated 
in the Atlanta campaign and on to the surrender — whether 
under the stars and bars, or under the stars and stripes — know 
from bitter experience the heavy sacrifice of life required to 
possess an intrenched position held by Americans with the 
courage of their convictions of duty, as evidenced on the At- 
lanta and Tennessee campaigns, including the "Waterloo" of 
the latter, the ill fated battle of Franklin, where General Cle- 
burne, the idol of his division, the pride of the army, and often 
designated as the Stonewall Jackson of the Army of Tennessee, 
surrendered his seemingly charmed life. 



158 CHATTANOOGA 

My friends of the Iowa commission and of the Army of the 
Tennessee, it is no reflection on the persistency of your courage 
that I pay this tribute to the unfaltering fidelity of that brigade 
and division holding this line, certainly unsurpassed in the Army 
of Tennessee, and under the inspiring presence of that idolized 
son of Erin I verily believe that every man of his division pres- 
ent would have surrendered his life rather than accept defeat. 
No, my countrymen, it is not in disparagement of your prowess, 
but that the world may know that you discharged your full 
duty as brave and obedient officers and soldiers. Some of you 
obeyed the command to advance and did not halt till you found 
yourselves prisoners in the Confederate line; many more reached 
the line only to be killed or wounded. Your losses were heavy, 
including many of your officers. You did all that it was pos- 
sible for flesh and blood to endure, the position was untenable. 
As defended there never was the remotest possibility of carrying 
the position by assault, except by weight of numbers and an 
appalling loss of life. Unsupported, you were asked to perform 
an impossible task. 

Governor Cummins, I desire to congratulate you and the 
appreciative citizens of your state on the intelligent, faithful, 
and successful work of your commission. Your monuments 
are all conspicuously located, unique and attractive in design, 
and are unsurpassed for durability and imposing appearance 
for the amount of money expended. 



Address Albert' B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

I am like the poor — you have me with you always, and I am 
sure that you must be growing tired of the sound of my voice. 
It is said, and this thought came to me as I heard the eloquent 
sentiments that fell from those who have preceded me, — It 
has been often said, that republics are ungrateful. It is not 
true. Your presence is the highest evidence that republics are 
grateful. This noble shaft, that lifts itself into the sky above 



CHATTANOOGA 159 

us, is the best evidence that one Republic, at least, values the 
heroism of its sons. Republics must be grateful, for when re- 
publics cease to be grateful, republics will cease to exist, 

I wish that I could concur in the hope expressed by my friend 
Captain Head. I wish I could say, as I stand upon this beau- 
tiful and commanding spot, where the eye absorbs all the love- 
liness of nature, that wars will be no more. I do not, however, 
so believe. The highest, the most fundamental, the most vital 
questions that touch humanity have always been answered in 
war, and I believe they always will be answered in war. Some- 
thing occasionally comes to a nation that it dares not submit to 
arbitration. I ask you whether, in 1861, the men of conscience 
in the south, and the men of conscience in the north could have 
found a tribunal upon the face of the earth to which they would 
have been willing to submit for arbitrament the vital, eternal 
issue involved in the war of the rebellion? No. It has been 
so ordered by Providence. I trust that increasing civilization 
may lessen occasions in which it becomes necessary for men to 
fight for their consciences and their judgments, but until the 
Ruler of the Universe, in His high wisdom, shall purify the 
hearts and clarify the minds of men far beyond the experience 
of the world, it will sometimes be necessary to appeal to the 
justice of the sword and to the judgment of might. 

I was delighted this morning, at the dedication on the mount- 
ain over there, to meet a hero of the Confederacy. I am de- 
lighted to meet another upon Missionary Ridge this afternoon. 
It has touched our full and overflowing hearts to listen to the 
exalted sentiments which have fallen from their lips. We are, 
indeed, a Union once more; a Union to be loved, a Union to 
be preserved, a Union to be fought for if it ever shall again be- 
come necessary. It must please us all to feel that the very men 
who met in mortal conflict upon this spot can vie with each 
other in patriotism, in holding up, in defending and in dignify- 
ing the dear old flag which now represents the sovereignty of 
the greatest nation upon the face of the earth. 

One word more. We are accustomed to think that the war 
settled all things relating to the Republic. It is not true. I 
have heard many an orator declare in lofty, eloquent phrases 



160 CHATTANOOGA 

that when Lee offered his sword to Grant at Appomattox, that 
the experimental age, the day of experiment in the Republic, 
had passed, and that it had become an eternal structure in the 
architecture of nations. It is not so, my friends. This monu- 
ment would lose its significance if it were so. The age of ex- 
periment in free institutions has not passed. It never will pass, 
and I thank God for it, for this sense of responsibility which 
must rest equally upon us all, is the very life and strength of our 
citizenship. 

And so we again drink deep at the fount of patriotism, of 
unselfish devotion to conscience and principle. 



Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 







IOWA MONUMENT AT ROSSVILLE GAP 



Exercises at the Dedication of the Iowa State 

Monument at Rossville Gap, 

November 20, 1906 



1:30 P. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Nearer. My God, To Thee" 

Call to Order Captain John A. Young 

Chairman of the Commission 

Invocation Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

"Almighty God, our thoughts have been wafted up to thee 
on the music of the moment, "Nearer, My God, to Thee." 
May it be the joy of our hearts that we are surrounded still 
with thy love. May we never go beyond thy jurisdiction or 
the cognizance of thy thought. We pray that we may ever 
rejoice in the fact that God, our father and our friend, the 
mighty Ruler of Nations and of men and of all destinies, is 
never apart from us and never forgetful of any section of this 
great universe or of the beings in it, who need thy instruction, 
inspiration and protection. We pray thee, stay thou near by, 
in all the future of our history, making us more and more 
thoughtful and regardful of thy presence and of the require- 
ments of thy character and of that which ought to be rendered 
unto God by those who are the children of God. May we be 
careful to render unto thee the things which are thine, without 
scruple and without withholding. 

"We gather here today from our own state in the distant 
west, to dedicate these monuments to the memory of men who 
gave themselves in death that they might be of service to an 
imperiled Union. We give thee thanks for these men. While 
we cannot dedicate nor consecrate nor hallow the ground where 
they struggled, we may set apart to their enduring remembrance 

Mon.-ll 161) 



162 CHATTANOOGA 

these lasting memorials, and may it be that these memorials 
shall be but fitting emblems of a nation's remembrance and 
gratitude. 

"We pray that thy blessing may be upon the state from 
which we come; upon all its people and its institutions. We 
pray for thy blessing upon our honored and beloved Governor, 
We commend unto thee the men who with such painstaking 
care have brought these monuments to completion. We pray 
thee that in the future of our state and of the Union of States 
there may be a growing sense of a common country, a growing 
sense of a community of interest, a growing fellowship in all 
things that shall make for good citizenship and for everything 
that shall be honorable to thee as well as honorable to our- 
selves. May we make no black chapter in history. 

"Lord, grant to us the spirit of justice, that we may ever write 
in our history fair and legible legends of truth and right. Give 
us thy blessing, and bless our comrades who have pitched their 
tents on fame's immortal camping-ground. May our country's 
destiny be fulfilled, bright in the light of truth, of justice and of 
righteousness. May thy blessing be so upon us that thy favor 
shall be toward us as a people. God save the commonwealth of 
Iowa. Amen." 



Hon. W. L. Frierson, mayor of Chattanooga, was in- 
troduced by Captain John A. Young, chairman of the 
commission, in the following words : 

"Ladies and Gentlemen: 

"One of the pleasant features of our trip for the dedication 
of our monuments has been the generous way in which we have 
been assisted by our Confederate brothers. It was my pleasure 
yesterday to present to you two ex-Confederate soldiers, who 
were kind enough to take part with us at the dedication of our 
monuments upon Lookout Mountain and at Sherman Heights. 
Today I do not present to you an ex-Confederate soldier, but 
the son of an ex-Confederate soldier, the honored mayor of 
Chattanooga, who will preside over this meeting for a time." 



CHATTANOOGA 163 

Address Hon. W. L. Frierson 

Mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Speaking as the official representative of the people of the 
city of Chattanooga, I esteem it an honor and a privilege to 
have been assigned a place in these ceremonies commemorative 
of the patriotism and the valor of the American soldier. 
Speaking for myself personally, and as the son of a Confed- 
erate soldier who received a wound in the battle of Missionary 
Ridge, almost within sight of this spot, I rejoice in the oppor- 
tunity to join with you in honoring those who in that battle 
valiantly bore the arms of the Union. 

Speaking as the representative of a generation whose fathers 
lived and suffered and died for a flag that no longer floats, save 
as a sacred memory, I am unreservedly glad that, forty years 
after the event, an undivided American people render a whole- 
hearted devotion to that same blessed flag which more than 
one hundred years ago proclaimed the birth of a nation which 
was to lead the world In free and independent government. 

To those who love their country, this Is holy ground. There 
rises a shaft, erected by a great state In memory of her sons 
who served In the victorious army of the greatest war of modern 
times. Over yonder, another state, prompted by the same pride 
and the same love and the same gratitude, has reared another 
monument to her soldier boys who met with bitter defeat; and 
standing near it is still another monument, the happy conception 
of a state which at once honors all her sons who fell, some in one 
army, some in the other. 

And so, ladies and gentlemen of the state of Iowa, we gladly 
greet you, and join with you in this splendid tribute to your 
dead. I am grateful for the opportunity of presiding tem- 
porarily over this meeting, and I now present Captain John A. 
Young, chairman of the Iowa commission, who will have charge 
of the further ceremonies. 



164 CHATTANOOGA 

Presentation to the Governor of Iowa .... 

Captain John A. Young 

Chairman of the Commission 

Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens: 

First of all I desire, on behalf of our commission at the con- 
clusion of its work, to thank the contractors, the Van Amringe 
Granite Co., of Boston, who did our work, for the faithful 
manner in which, under many unforeseen difficulties and cir- 
cumstances, and at a loss to themselves of many thousands of 
dollars, they carried it to completion. The thanks not only of 
the commission, but of every citizen of our state as well, are due 
to comrade Humbert for the intelligent, conscientious, patient, 
persistent and long continued performance of his duties as our 
superintendent of construction. He permitted no unfit trowel 
of mortar, or defective stone to be placed in these monuments. 
By reason of his critical oversight a forty-ton shaft of granite, 
dressed ready for erection, was rejected by him here, on account 
of his discovery of traces of iron in its composition, which had 
not been seen either by the quarrymen or the contractors. Ex- 
pecting to spend from one to two months gratuitously as our 
superintendent, he was compelled to give to this work nearly 
one year of his time, and he did it without murmur or complaint. 
We made no mistake in making him our superintendent of 
construction and we owe him more than thanks. 

To his honor, the mayor of this beautiful near-by city and 
to many of its citizens, our thanks are due for their uniform 
courtesies and their unselfish interest in the erection of these 
shafts. To Captain Betts, engineer of the park, I especially 
desire to thus publicly return our sincere thanks for his readiness 
at all times and under all circumstances to aid us in every pos- 
sible way by his time, his advice and his invaluable counsel. 

My friends, we today commemorate in a sense the events of 
forty-three years ago. I know that to the young men and 
women or to the boys and girls just verging on vigorous young 
manhood or womanhood, events of forty-three years ago seem 
those of a dim and misty past. They call it ancient history. 
But to you, my old comrades, either Union or Confederate, who 
took a part in those events on Lookout Mountain, Sherman 



CHATTANOOGA 165 

Heights, Rossville Gap or Ringgold, they seem to have been 
those of but a little while ago. The intervening years seem but 
as a day that has passed or a night that has flown. Memory 
carries you back over all of this time and its occurrences and 
they seem very near to you. Aye, memory perhaps carries you 
still farther back, when as a boy under the trees in front of the 
old homestead the old father laid his hand on your shoulder 
or took your hand in his and said: "Go, my boy, be a good boy 
and do your duty as a soldier." Or the old mother, striving to 
repress the tears that welled up from her innermost soul, clasped 
you for the last time in her arms and printed on your cheek the 
last kiss. Or perhaps, a little older grown, with the girl you 
loved you were in the tiny cottage, where the morning glories 
grew up around the windows, or on the posts of the porch — 
where perhaps in the cradle a baby lay, and you remember its 
innocent prattle or the soft pat of its chubby hands or the loving 
embrace of its soft arms, as you bade your wife and baby good- 
bye when you started to become one in that great army in the 
civil war. 

What other word of three letters has so much in it of sorrow, 
of sadness, of desolation, and of misery as that one word 
"War"? A distinguished general some forty years ago when 
asked for a brief definition of war, answered curtly, "It is hell." 
I am sure that every old veteran, either Union or Confederate, 
will agree that even that harsh definition lacks much of describ- 
ing it in all of its hideous details of death, suffering, carnage, 
desolation, sorrow and woe. No artist, however deft, can fitly 
picture it, and no writer, however gifted, can fully describe it. 
Only you, who have witnessed it and been a part of it, and suf- 
fered by it, can know fully what war is. To thoughtful, intel- 
ligent human beings it seems there should be no such thing 
as war; and yet so far back as history or tradition reaches, from 
the time of Cain and Abel, on down through the ages to this 
year of our Lord, 1906, there has been strife among men and 
war between tribes, dependencies, kingdoms, governments and 
states. Even at this day with all our boasted civilization and 
intelligence, our education and our sense of right and wrong; 
in spite of all the efforts of our peace societies and arguments 



166 CHATTANOOGA 

for arbitration, the plowshares and pruning hooks of the world, 
seem in no danger of being overstocked by the conversion of the 
swords and spears, of muskets and bayonets. 

The pretext or occasion for war has usually been that the 
strong might crush the weak; for extension of territory; to 
gratify the ambition of men, and even in some instances to in- 
troduce some form of Christianity among those who were styled 
heathen. 

Our civil war was peculiar in that it was not for the 
extension of territory or to repel a common enemy, but was a 
conflict between the people of one part of our country against 
those of another part — of the same race, the same nationality, 
and of those who since the formation of an independent govern- 
ment of their own had lived for nearly one hundred years in 
peace and in at least comparative harmony. 

It matters not now whether it occurred by reason of two dis- 
tinct types of the early settlers of the then new world, the 
puritan and the cavalier; or whether it grew out of the varied 
complications and diverse views of slavery as an institution in 
part of our country, or whether it was from a defective link in 
the chain which bound together the thirteen colonies at the 
formation of our national government, giving the right as 
claimed by some for a part to withdraw at will from the confed- 
eration thus formed. Be the cause what it may, it is enough 
now to know that like an electric bolt from a clear sky, the first 
shot at Sumter was the beginning of a conflict which in the 
magnitude of its operations, in the courage of the men compos- 
ing the armies, and the far-reaching consequences of its ter- 
mination, has never been equalled in either ancient or modern 
times. 

It cost our country thousands of millions of dollars; its 
armies were numbered by millions of men, and its dead by 
hundreds of thousands of precious, priceless lives. 

I said it was peculiar in that it was a war of our own people. 
It was also peculiar in that, while the men in each army 
fought each other with a courage often bordering on despera- 
tion, there was never a time when hatred, malice, animosity or 
ill will had a place in the hearts of these men, as individuals, one 



CHATTANOOGA 167 

against the other. Indeed, we learned then to know each other 
better, and to respect each other more than ever before. When, 
after four long years of bloody strife, and the end finally came, 
the armies of the north, and those of the south, laid down their 
arms, and although those of the south were defeated they were 
not dishonored nor disgraced, and the victors were neither dicta- 
torial, overbearing nor arrogant. All were glad that peace had 
come, and that we could again return, as citizens of our common 
country, to our homes and loved ones and again commence for 
ourselves the battle of life. 

We concede to our southern brother, he who bore arms 
as a soldier in the Confederate army, equal endurance, equal 
valor and equal bravery with those of any army the world has 
ever known. And yet we feel that he now must agree with us 
that we fought for him as well as ourselves, and that our inter- 
pretation of the original articles of the confederation which 
bound us together as a Union and for which we fought was — 
using the words of another — "everlastingly right," and that for 
which he fought — and honestly, too — was "eternally 

wrong." 

While withholding no meed of praise for the soldiers of 
any other state, I today speak only of the soldiers of Iowa. 

In i860 Iowa was only a young state and much of it but 
sparsely settled. Its people were yet largely of the pioneer 
class, with strong hearts and sinewy arms, making for them- 
selves homes in the virgin prairies, and pushing civilization still 
farther to the westward. Our total population was less than 
700,000 souls; a quiet, industrious and peace-loving people, 
with no thought of war, or ever being called upon to serve as 
soldiers. But in the various calls Iowa sent over 75,000 of her 
sons as volunteer soldiers to the Union army. Not trained 
soldiers, not men who loved war, but bearded men and beardless 
boys, from the farm, the shop, the store or the professions, 
whose latent patriotic impulses were awakened into new life by 
the events of those days. They loved their families and homes 
and state, but they believed in the unity of the Republic, a 
union of states in one great nation, a brotherhood of Americans 
under one common flag. For these things they sacrificed their 



168 CHATTANOOGA 

plans and prospects in life, the comforts and pleasures of family 
and home and its surroundings, and gave of their means, their 
brains, their time and their lives. They made history, of which 
their state is proud, at Pea Ridge, at Prairie Grove, at Belmont, 
and Donelson, at Shiloh and Corinth, at Chickasaw Bayou 
and Arkansas Post, at Vicksburg and at Jackson; and when 
after the surrender at Vicksburg and they were resting in camp 
at Black River Bridge, there came from the beleaguered army at 
Chattanooga the Macedonian cry of "Come over and help us," 
they strapped their knapsacks, shouldered their muskets and 
marched to the relief of their comrades in distress. 

With that part of Sherman's army which came up the Missis- 
sippi to Memphis, thence by rail to Corinth and then marched 
towards Chattanooga, were ten regiments of Iowa soldiers and 
the First Iowa battery. 

The Fifth, Tenth and Seventeenth Iowa regiments were in 
brigades and divisions of the Seventeenth army corps, while the 
Sixth regiment was in the Second brigade. Fourth division of 
the Fifteenth army corps. The other six regiments, the Fourth, 
Ninth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first, 
with the First battery, formed Williamson's Iowa brigade, of 
Osterhaus' division of the Fifteenth army corps. Sherman's 
command reached the vicinity of Brown's Ferry on the evening 
of November twenty-third and immediately commenced cross- 
ing the river. Near morning of November twenty- fourth, when 
all had crossed but Osterhaus' division of the Fifteenth army 
corps, owing to the breaking of the bridge at Brown's Ferry 
that division was attached to General Hooker's command and 
remained with it until after the fight at Ringgold on November 
twenty-seventh. The four regiments first named were engaged, 
with honor to themselves, in the spirited attacks against the 
Confederate right at and near the north end of Missionary 
Ridge. The Iowa brigade and battery were with Hooker 
in the battle above the clouds on Lookout Mountain November 
twenty-fourth, and next day coming across the valley to Ross- 
ville Gap, they flanked the Confederate left, gained a position 
In their rear and compelled the evacuation by the Confederates 
of their strong position on the south end of the Ridge. Sher- 



CHATTANOOGA 169 

man's persistent attacks on their right, the brilliant dash of the 
Army of the Cumberland on their center, and the flanking move- 
ment by Hooker on their left, after a stubborn defense by them, 
finally compelled the retreat of Bragg's army. Our army fol- 
lowed them to Ringgold, when they again convinced us, that 
even though defeated and in retreat, they were still good 
fighters and would take their time in leaving the field. 

At Ringgold on November twenty-seventh, 1863, ended that 
year's campaign. 

In honor and in memory of her sons who fought over the 
rocky, shaggy sides of Lookout; against the fortified slopes of 
Missionary Ridge; through the defile of Rossville Gap, and on 
rugged Taylor's Ridge at Ringgold, Iowa has builded these 
monuments on the ground over which they marched and fought. 
Markers, mementos, and everlasting reminders to her children 
and your children of what her soldiers did that this might be 
and should be a "Union, one and inseparable now and forever," 
over every foot of which should float but one flag. 

Standing as we do today, on ground over which they fought 
and near where so many of them sleep the last long sleep in 
soldiers' graves, we feel that this is holy ground ; ground made 
holy by the blood of those who gave all that man can give, their 
lives, for the life of their united country. Let us thank God the 
sacrifice was not made in vain, for we have a country whose 
people are united as never before, all loyal to the old Union and 
the old flag; a prosperous, happy, and contented people, proud 
of their states indeed, proud of their Republic too, and proud 
of their flag, the emblem in every land and on every sea of their 
country's might, and power and glory. 

I am glad to have lived to see the day when only a little while 
ago the boys from Iowa and the boys from Tennessee and the 
boys from Georgia touched elbows as they proudly marched as 
soldiers under the old stars and stripes and commanded by a 
Wheeler and a Lee. 

I am glad to have lived to see the day, too, when the soft 
south wind brings to us of the north only the smell of the smoke 
of your furnaces, the hum of your industries, peans of prosperity 
and happiness, and words alone of respect, good will and peace. 



170 CHATTANOOGA 

Only a few years ago from the top of Mt. McGregor came 
the last faint whisper of the dying old commander, "Let us 
have peace." His prayer is answered. Peace has come. Sweet- 
winged peace broods over all our land. Heaven grant it may 
last for a thousand years. 

To no other class is our country so much indebted, in my 
judgment, for the peace we have, as to the soldiers, north and 
south, of the civil war. 

My comrades, you who have carried for all these years the 
scars of battle; you who have sacrificed and suffered most, as 
you remember what your country was and what it now is, and 
with prophetic vision contemplate what it is to be in the coming 
years, the greatest nation on earth wherever shall be kept 
brightly burning the beacon light of liberty for men, although 
it has cost you much, you can but say, "It is well"; although 
it cost us much, it is worth the price we paid. 

As on yesterday in portions of the national military park on 
Lookout Mountain and at Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, we 
dedicated monuments we have erected there, so today in this 
little Iowa park in Rossville Gap, Georgia, in the name of our 
monument commission, in the presence of the honored Gover- 
nor of our state and the many other good friends who honor 
us by their presence, under the bending sky which seems to en- 
circle us all, and the old flag under which they fought, in memory 
and in honor of our soldiers who fought in the battles of Look- 
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Ringgold, by our services 
here we shall dedicate this monument also, this beautiful shaft 
of granite, as a token of Iowa's love for her soldier sons, and as 
a remembrance of her soldiers' deeds on these and other fields. 

In 1902 our legislature made an appropriation of $35,000,00 
for the erection of these monuments, and provided for the ap- 
pointment by the governor of eleven commissioners to carry on 
the work of their erection, each one of whom should have been in 
the engagements here. Of the eleven first appointed, one, 
Captain Samuel H. Watkins of the Thirtieth Iowa, died about 
one year ago, and Captain Critz of the same regiment was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy. 



CHATTANOOGA 171 

We have expended in the erection of the monument on Look- 
out Mountain $8,000.00, the same amount for the monument 
on Missionary Ridge, and $16,000.00 in the erection of this 
monument here in Rossville Gap. 

Governor Cummins, the commission you honored by appoint- 
ment, have finished their work. They have given to it much 
of labor, time and thought. They have tried so to build that it 
should be a credit to themselves and an honor to their state. It 
has been to them not only a duty as citizens of our state but it 
has also been a labor of love as well. Into these beautiful shafts 
of granite we have builded a part of our very selves, our mem- 
ories of the past, our love of the present, our hopes for the fu- 
ture; our affections for our comrades living and dead and our 
love for state and country and flag. We are pleased that our 
work is done. We hope you will find it well done. 

And now trusting that they shall stand for generations as 
tokens of Iowa's love for her soldier boys, in behalf of our com- 
mission I present them to you as Governor of our State for your 
acceptance. 



Acceptance and presentation to the United States 

Government Albert B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission, Veterans of the 
War — in whatever army — Ladies and Gentlemen: 
I would be a traitor to the imperious command of my own 
heart were I not to immediately acknowledge the gracious hospi- 
tality of the people of Chattanooga and its vicinity. Speaking 
on behalf of the people of Iowa, Mr. Mayor, we are especially 
grateful to you for your presence upon this significant occasion, 
your cordial welcome, and your participation in its ceremonies. 
Speaking to all the people of the south, I must be permitted to 
say that as we turn toward the north, we shall carry with us 
memories as sweet as your flowers, recollections as beautiful as 
your hills and your mountains, and they will endure so long as 
our affections gather around these monuments, and so long as 
we can recall the impressive scenes of this pilgrimage. 



172 CHATTANOOGA 

You have made easy and pleasant for us the performance of 
a task at once difficult and embarrassing. I assure you that we 
appreciate the atmosphere of friendship that we have breathed 
in every mile of our long journey. I assure you that the honest 
hand-clasp means something to these men and women of the 
north. 

I have endeavored upon several prior occasions of similar 
nature to express the loving admiration we feel for Iowa 
soldiers, but at length my mother tongue fails me, and I am un- 
able to adequately portray the gratitude that fills our hearts as 
we look upon these monuments that, so long as granite may en- 
dure, will tell the story to succeeding ages of their courage and 
of their patriotism. The admiration deepens as we pass from 
point to point in this journey. When I remember that in those 
fateful days, forty years ago and more, giants in war filled this 
valley and climbed these mountains, and when I remember that 
even among these giants of war the Iowa boys lifted themselves 
into distinction, you need not wonder that I am unable to express 
the pride we feel in their prowess and their valor. But there is 
another thought which crowds my heart at this moment — a 
thought that has grown upon me since the moment I stood 
before the first memorial erected by a grateful commonwealth. 
I see, shining everywhere, carved in granite and written in 
bronze, the names of the officers of the armies, both north and 
south. I stood this morning at Grant's headquarters upon 
Orchard Knob. I stood a little later at Bragg's headquarters 
upon Missionary Ridge. These men knew that history would 
record what they did and what they said. I do not disparage 
the officers of the civil war. All honor to their courage; all 
honor to their intelligence; all honor to their patriotism! But 
I am lifting my voice this afternoon in the memory of the com- 
mon private soldier — the man behind the gun. They lie 
sleeping over there, in the beautiful home of the dead, marked 
with those long lines of gleaming marble, unknown to posterity. 
They knew that their names would never illuminate a page in 
the annals of mankind. They knew that those who came after 
them would never kneel at their tombs; and yet they offered up 
their lives as willingly, as freely, as the raindrop falls upon the 



CHATTANOOGA 173 

thirsty earth, that the flower may blossom Into fragrance and 
into beauty. And this hour, it seems to me, is sacred to the 
private soldier of the war. 

There are two classes of soldiers. I know nothing of war 
from observation and experience, but it seems to me that the 
soldiery of the world is divided into two magnificent armies. 
We have lately been the admiring witnesses of an eastern war, 
in which the Oriental exhibited a courage so superb that he 
challenged the reverence of the whole civilized world. The 
Oriental (I am speaking now of the private soldier) Is a good 
soldier and a brave fighter because he Is not afraid to die. The 
American soldier, of the north and of the south, was a brave 
and noble and relentless fighter because he was afraid to run 
away. He had in his soul that sense of self-respect, he was 
dominated by that spirit of high manhood, that kept his face 
to the foe, whatever the danger and the peril may have been. 

And so the war between the north and the south became 
distinguished in all the carnage of the world for the dignity and 
the greatness of the common soldier upon both sides of the 
mighty contest. If it were not so, my dear friends, we could 
not gather upon this lovely afternoon, celebrating in peace and 
in amity the virtues of the northern soldier upon southern soil. 
It Is because they were both citizens of the United States. It is 
because they were both animated by the eternal principles of 
truth, that we, their descendants, are enabled to assemble this 
afternoon, standing as I do In the very shadow of this sublime 
shaft, and take counsel with each other with respect to the 
destiny of a common and Inseparable Union. 

Another thought has pursued me from moment to moment, as 
I have passed from the battlefield of Vicksburg, through the 
shadows which memory casts about Andersonville, Into the cor- 
dial spirit that we breathed as we came into this community. It 
is this; we sometimes stand face to face with each other and 
each gives the other the full credit for conscience in this fateful 
war, and yet we fail to recognize what I believe to have been 
the supreme guide in the war of 1861. I believe — I do not 
know whether you share with me this conviction — but I believe 
that the Ruler of the Universe, rather than men, determines the 



174 CHATTANOOGA 

issue of war. There was something more than the courage of 
the north; there was something more than the valor of the 
south, in this memorable conflict. I cannot help but think of 
that old battle in the years gone by, when the little band of 
Grecians, under the leadership of Miltiades, met the hosts of 
Darius by the Grecian sea. I remember that there is a little 
mound in which were buried the noble patriots who fought for 
civilization. It was God himself who gave the victory to the 
Greek, that the civilization of Europe might not be over- 
whelmed by the barbarism of the Asiatic. 

And a little later, when Hannibal's legions were thundering 
at the gates of Rome, I remember that Nero's soldiers turned 
back that great torrent of savagery that threatened forever to 
sweep away the learning and the arts of Rome, of which we 
are the happy and fortunate inheritors. I remember, too, that 
there came later a vital moment in which the Saracen met the 
Christian upon the field at Tours. I remember that Charle- 
magne lifted up the banner of the Cross, and there was deter- 
mined for Europe this fundamental, this vital, issue: Christ 
and the Bible against Mahomet and the Koran. 

And still later, when Napoleon, dreaming of universal con- 
quest, met the liberty of England upon the plain at Waterloo, 
the Ruler of the Universe again interposed his mighty hand, 
and it was made sure that the freedom of the Anglo-Saxon 
should not perish from the earth. 

You know, my dear friends, that I speak with a heart over- 
flowing with kindness for my friends of the south; you know 
that I believe that the southern soldier fought for his conscience 
just as the northern soldier fought for his; you know that I 
believe that the southern soldier died for his country, just as 
the northern soldier died for his. Nevertheless, over it all 
swept the overruling hand of God, an Infinite Protector, who 
knew that if we would accomplish the high destiny reserved for 
us we must accomplish it as a united, and not as a divided 
people. And therefore it seems to me this hour may well be 
sacred to that divine thought. Ah ! sometimes as I stand before 
a monument like this, I have a vision that no master could paint 
in all the richness of his mother tongue. It seems to me that 



CHATTANOOGA , 175 

God, from all time, intended the United States to lead humanity 
to the highest point it will ever attain, and I believe that he 
Intended the people of the Republic to clothe the mortal race In 
the most beautiful garb that civilization will ever wear. We are 
now a mighty Instrument of advance and progress. We are 
now fighting shoulder to shoulder for all the blessings of good 
government. We are now, side by side, grappling with the 
problems of peace In a united country, with a common heart 
filled with love for the old flag, filled with hope for the glory 
of the human race. 

My dear friend, Captain Young, on behalf of the state of 
which I chance to be at this moment the chief executive, I ac- 
cept the noble, beautiful tribute that has come from your own 
hands to mine, to perpetuate the memory of the valor and the 
courage and the dignity of Iowa's soldiers engaged In this 
historic region. I congratulate you and your associates upon 
the fidelity with which you have performed a difficult duty. I 
am sure I am transferring to you a message from all the people 
of Iowa when I say that you have discharged that duty with a 
faithfulness not surpassed by any of the commissions to which 
Iowa has entrusted her work, and as long as Iowa cherishes the 
memory of her patriotic sons, so long will she also value the 
work that you have done In their behalf. 

And now. General Carman, but a day ago I had the honor to 
give Into your keeping a sacred monument nestled among the 
lovely trees In the home for the dead at Andersonvllle, and I 
have more pleasure still, because my heart is not so filled with 
sad emotions as it was at that moment, — I have more pleasure 
still In delivering to you, representing the government of the 
United States, representing the sovereignty of this dear old flag, 
this tribute that Iowa has erected in memory of her children 
in the days of the civil war, and I give It to you, knowing that 
a grateful Republic will cherish these monuments and preserve 
them, so long as granite lasts, as the evidences of the loyalty 
and courage of her faithful sons. 



176 CHATTANOOGA 

Acceptance for the United States Government 

General K. A. Carman 

Chairman of the National Park Commission, Representing the Secretary of War 

Governor Cummins, Ladies, Members of the Iowa Commission, 

Comrades and Friends: 

From the beginning of the great civil war, Chattanooga was 
looked upon as of great stragetic importance, as the key to the 
rich and populous state of Georgia, and in fact to the whole 
south. Our great and immortal President, Abraham Lincoln, 
the ablest strategist and the greatest commander the war pro- 
duced, was first to recognize the importance of its occupation, 
and that of east Tennessee, and as early as October, 1861, 
directed the attention of our generals in the field to it. But no 
immediate efforts were made to further Mr. Lincoln's direc- 
tions — all attention was directed to Virginia and other points. 
The campaign resulting in the occupation of this important point 
by the Union army began in June, 1863, when General Rose- 
crans, advancing from Murfreesborough, maneuvered General 
Bragg out of it, took partial possession, and threw his army 
south of it, and to the east of the Lookout Mountains. 

In all great strategy and tactics there is a key point to every 
position. The knoll on which stood the little brick church at 
Antietam was the bloody fought for key of that field on that 
bloodiest day of the war, and of American history; the intersec- 
tion of two prominent roads, in the small public square, was the 
key fought for at Gettysburg, and the road that led through 
this Rossville Gap was the key to the possession of Chattanooga, 
and the gateway to the south for the Unionists, and to the 
north for the Confederates. General Bragg gave it up when 
he abandoned Chattanooga and withdrew to Lafayette, and 
all the bloody fighting on the nineteenth and twentieth of 
September, 1863, on the field of Chickamauga was brought 
about by the desperate efforts of the Confederates to regain this 
road and this gap, which Bragg in his withdrawal had left open. 
It is not our purpose to enter into the bloody details of that 
battle, they are known to all of you, and to the world, and the 
heroism there displayed is a common heritage to the people of 
the north and south. The result was that Bragg regained the 



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CHATTANOOGA 177 

key to the position, and the Union army was thrown on the de- 
fensive, and the safety of Chattanooga greatly imperiled. 

The Government took immediate steps to repair the disaster. 
Hooker with 20,000 men from the Army of the Potomac, came 
from the east and opened the "cracker line" that Bragg had 
closed, and Sherman came from Mississippi with the veterans 
of Vicksburg. Grant was put in supreme command and prep- 
arations were made to relieve Chattanooga and resume the 
offensive. On November twenty-third Thomas seized Orchard 
Knob and the battle of Chattanooga began. 

Grant's plan of battle, which followed the occupation of 
Orchard Knob, contemplated that Sherman should cross the 
Tennessee river above Chattanooga, seize the northern extremity 
of Missionary Ridge, and sweep southward along it, while 
Hooker with Geary's division of the Potomac army, Cruft's 
division of the Army of the Cumberland, and Osterhaus' divis- 
ion of the Army of the Tennessee, should demonstrate on Look- 
out Mountain, and if opportunity favored, to carry the point of 
it, the bench from the end of the nose down to, and across, 
the plateau. There was no expectation that, in any event, he 
would get to the Craven house, much less beyond it. Thomas 
with four divisions of the Army of the Cumberland was to con- 
front the Confederate center on Missionary Ridge, and be pre- 
pared to take advantage of any success that might attend 
Sherman in his attack on Bragg's right. 

On the twenty-fourth Sherman seized the northern extremity 
of the Mission Ridge, and finding himself separated by a gorge 
from the Confederate line, and night coming on, fortified his 
position and waited for the morrow. On the morning of the 
twenty-fifth he assaulted the Confederate right with great deter- 
mination, but was unsuccessful in all his efforts. The fighting 
on both sides was superb, and participated in by the Fifth, Sixth, 
Tenth and Seventeenth Iowa regiments, who, here as elsewhere, 
displayed the most soldierly qualities. Upon the field of their 
brave and bloody endeavor, their state has erected a fitting 
memorial. 

Meanwhile, Hooker had more than gloriously performed 
his allotted task. On the morning of the twenty- fourth, from 

Mon.— 12 



178 CHATTANOOGA 

his position in the Wauhatchie Valley, beyond Lookout Mount- 
ain, he crossed Lookout creek, ascended the rocky and wooded 
slopes of the mountain amidst fog, clouds, and sunshine, and at 
nightfall had driven the Confederates steadily before him and 
kept the ground at and beyond the Craven house, causing the 
retreat of the Confederates during the night. Lookout Mount- 
ain was won and Bragg's left turned. In this picturesque and 
decisive movement, Williamson's Iowa brigade — the Fourth, 
Ninth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first 
regiments bore a conspicuous part, and at the point where night 
and success had crowned their efforts stands a beautiful monu- 
ment to the memory of the Iowa braves. 

When the morning sun of the twenty-fifth gilded the summit 
of Lookout Mountain, and there was seen by the Union soldiers 
in the valley below "Old Glory" waving on the topmost peak, 
supported by the men of Iowa and New York, Missouri and 
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky, Indiana and lUInoIs, there 
arose such a shout of joyous exultation, as had never before 
been heard In the valley; has never been heard since, and never 
will be heard hereafter. Who can doubt that the inspiration of 
that morning hour strengthened the limbs of the men of the 
Army of the Cumberland, when, later in the day, and without 
orders, they cHmbed the steep and rugged slopes of Missionary 
Ridge and hurled Bragg's army from its summit. 

Hooker descended Lookout Mountain, crossed the valley, 
and Williamson's Iowa brigade. In the advance, marched over 
this road, cleared the Rossville Gap, threatened Bragg's line In 
the rear, and weakened the morale of the Confederates holding 
the position on the ridge. 

While all this was transpiring on the left of the Confederate 
line and Sherman was pounding its right, the four divisions un- 
der Geo. H. Thomas were waiting their opportunity. The time 
had now come, and to help Sherman, Grant ordered Thomas to 
make a demonstration on Bragg's center by an advance to the 
rifle-pits at the foot of the ridge. The four divisions went 
forward In beautiful array, carried the rifle-pits, and without 
orders ascended the ridge, and drove Bragg's men down its 
eastern slope, and to Dalton. Once more the Union arms 



CHATTANOOGA 179 

grasped this gap, the key to Georgia and the Confederacy, and 
it rested in the palm of Grant's hand. 

It was through this gateway to the Confederacy, the Ross- 
ville Gap, that Sherman marched in the spring of 1864 for 
Atlanta and the sea. 

Chattanooga was the most picturesque battle of the war, and 
in what a fitting frame was the picture set. Bounded on the 
north by the bold ridges beyond the Tennessee, on the west by 
the towering Lookout, and south and east by the Mission Ridge, 
it was a glorious spectacle, and none who saw it will ever forget 
it. The result was momentous in its effects, darkening the hopes 
of the Confederacy, and raising the spirits of the Union. 

A Confederate officer, General Loring, in writing of the 
campaign for Chattanooga, says: "We would have gladly 
exchanged a dozen of our previous victories for that one failure. 
* * * No man in the south felt that you had accomplished 
anything until Chattanooga fell. * * * It was the closed 
doorway to the interior of our country. * * * 'pj^g jggg ^^ 
Vicksburg weakened our prestige, contracted our territory, and 
practically expelled us from the Mississippi River, but it left the 
body of our power unharmed. As to Gettysburg, that was an 
experiment. * * * Our loss of it, except that we could less 
easily spare the slaughter of veteran soldiers than you could, 
left us just where we were. * * * The fall of Chattanooga 
in consequence of the Chickamauga campaign, and the subse- 
quent total defeat of General Bragg's efforts to recover it, 
caused us to experience for the first time a diminution of confi- 
dence as to the final result." 

General C. F. Manderson, a gallant Union officer, in a speech 
made at the dedication of the park in 1895, said: "In impor- 
tance to the cause, in far-reaching result, in the bringing of the 
end desired, no battle equals those fought for the possession and 
retention of Chattanooga. Capturing the stronghold of the 
south, this strategic key to open the very vitals of the Confed- 
eracy, guaranteed the holding of loyal east Tennessee; kept 
Kentucky within our bounds; threatened the flank and rear of 
the Army of Northern Virginia, permitted the Atlanta cam- 
paign, with the capture of the capital city of Georgia; made 



180 CHATTANOOGA 

possible the march to the sea ; was the chief instrumentality In 
the fall of Richmond; was a prime factor In the surrender at 
Appomattox, and did much to prevent that recognition of south- 
ern nationality by the great powers that would probably have 
made of secession a fact accomplished." 

Of the causes of the great war — whether states rights or 
slavery — we shall not discuss; it Is enough to say that the result 
was the elimination of both from our political and social system, 
and the perpetuation of a Union whose corner-stone was laid 
in the declaration that all men were created free and equal. 
In the contest the Union soldier saved the south from Its own 
folly, and put the nation on the high road to prosperity and 
commanding power. 

The more than forty years since the close of the war has seen 
a marvelous development along all lines of political, industrial 
and mental endeavor. From 33,000,000 people we have in- 
creased to over 85,000,000. In i860 we were worth sixteen 
billions of dollars, now we have one hundred and twelve bil- 
lions. In 1865 we had a circulation of five hundred and fifty 
millions, now we have two thousand seven hundred and fifty 
millions of dollars. Then we had $16.00 per capita, now 
we have $33.00. Our bank capital is eight hundred millions 
of dollars more than that of any nation In the world. We 
manufacture more than one-third of all the goods produced in 
the world. Our immense resources of iron and coal have been 
developed, and of the latter we supply nearly forty per cent, 
of the world's consumption. In the production and manufact- 
ure of Iron and steel we exceed every other country. 

In i860 we had 31,000 miles of railroad, now there are 
215,000, or more than the railroads of all Europe. We raise 
more corn, cattle and poultry than any other country In the 
world, and more cotton than all the other countries on the 
globe combined. In this great prosperity the south has fully 
shared. Three-fourths of the world's supply of cotton Is raised 
In the south, and of the 4,000,000 bales retained for home 
consumption, more than 2,000,000 are now manufactured In the 
mills of the south, where as late as 1880 only 221 bales were 
manufactured. Before the latter date the cotton went to the 



CHATTANOOGA 181 

mills beyond the states where it was grown, now the mills have 
come to the cotton fields. The people of the fourteen southern 
states, in real and personal property have $18,000,000,000, or 
$2,000,000,000 more than that of the nation in i860, though 
the population of the south is between 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 
less than that of the whole country just before the war. 

Can any one doubt that, to a great degree, the valor, patriot- 
ism and sacrifices of the Union soldier had much to do with this 
great development of the south. He saved it from suicide, and 
preserved it to the Union. Except for his efforts, instead of a 
union of states, there would have been a division, and no one 
knows whether the area now covered on this continent by the 
"Stars and Stripes" would be now occupied by two central gov- 
ernments, or by twenty warring factions, and the world would 
never have seen the marvelous growth of the south, nor the com- 
manding position that the nation now holds among the powers 
of the world. 

Here, Governor Cummins, immediately on the Tennessee and 
Georgia state line, in one of the most picturesque of spots, here 
at the former gateway of the Southern Confederacy, Iowa 
comes today to dedicate her three monuments, that for all time 
shall show to her children, and to their children's children, the 
appreciation she has for her sons, who at Chattanooga offered 
their lives that the government of the people, by the people, 
for the people, should not perish from the earth. 

These lines of an American poet are here appropriate : 

"Count not the cost of honor to the dead! 
The tribute that a mighty nation pays 
To those who loved her well in former days 

Means more than gratitude for glories fled; 

For every noble man that she hath bred 
Immortalized by art's immortal praise, 
Lives in the bronze and marble that we raise, 

To lead our sons as he our fathers led. 

These monuments of manhood, brave and high, 

Do more than forts or battleships to keep 
Our dear-bought liberty. They fortify 



182 CHATTANOOGA 

The heart of youth with valor wise and deep; 
They build eternal bulwarks, and command 
Eternal strength to guard our native land." 

By direction of the secretary of war, and in behalf of the 
United States, whose territorial integrity and free institutions 
Iowa's sons did so much to save, we accept these three beautiful 
memorials for perpetual custody and tender care. 



Music Pifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

Address Major R. D. Cramer 

Thirtieth Iowa Infantry 

Mr. Chairman, Governor Cummins, Members of the Iowa 

Commission, and my Fellow Countrymen: 

Forty-two years ago I stood within this narrow gap, and 
upon this historic spot, surrounded by a mighty soldiery clad 
in all the habiliments of war, possessed of a patriotic zeal and 
devotion to freedom's cause and freedom's land that knew no 
such thing as defeat. And as I stand here today and look 
upon the towering heights of Lookout Mountain, and the 
rough and rugged rocks of Missionary Ridge, and remember 
the day when these very heights by the booming thunder of 
cannon, the rattle of musketry and bursting of shells, seemed 
to make the very mountain tremble beneath our feet, while 
the earth and these rocks drank of the best blood of American 
manhood, I am lost in memory, and can but exclaim : 

"Lord God of hosts be with us yet. 
Lest we forget, lest we forget." 

Yes, forty-two years the rose has flowered and faded; forty- 
two years the golden harvest has fallen, and the furrows of 
the plow have covered the furrows of artillery. And today 
we are here assembled under the sweet and sweeping wings of 
a patriotic peace, with no east, no west, nor north, nor south; 
but from the warm shores of the gulf to the ice-bound lakes 



CHATTANOOGA 183 

of the north, and from ocean to ocean, one country and one 
flag. 

It has been a custom since the ancient days of Greece and 
Rome that great events of nations and kingdoms and of their 
great men, have been marked by monuments and pyramids; 
and judging from the description given of their massive 
grandeur, and durabiHty, one is led to believe that we are but 
in our infancy in this, a national historic art. We learn from 
Grecian mythology that three thousand years before the birth 
of Christ, the Egyptians were noted for their various mor.u- 
mental structures, and with but few exceptions these marked 
the tombs of departed kings and warriors. Jacob, the an- 
cient patriarch, erected the twelve stones on the plains at Jer- 
icho, as a monument to his wonderful experience in seeing the 
hand of approval of an overruling Providence. In a later 
period, tombs were prepared by vast excavations in the solid 
rock, and upon which or over which were erected vast marble 
monuments, including within their structure beautified rooms 
and decorated halls, upon the walls of which were carved the 
inscriptions to the memory of their departed heroes. Access to 
this and these artistic halls or rooms was had only by small 
apertures cut in the face of the marble at extended heights 
from the base, thus shutting out from the public the carvings 
and inscriptions of the life and character of the departed, leav- 
ing the passerby to look only to the highest peak of the monu- 
ment, where was placed the statuary of the deceased, with the 
artistic accuracy of the Grecian architect. The traveler of 
today on the river Nile and at that ancient city of Memphis may 
behold a pyramid erected to the memory of their ancient King 
"Cheops." Its height, 479 feet; width, 764 feet at base. The 
weight of the marble in its construction, 6,316,000 tons. The 
only entrance to the beautiful halls and caverns within, and the 
carved inscriptions in memory of their once illustrious King is 
on the east face of the marble shaft, and sixty-seven feet above 
the base, where an entrance is had leading into a hall or cham- 
ber 46x27 feet, and 11^ feet high; this connected by a narrow 
defile and opening out again into what is known as the Queen's 
chamber 17x18 in width and 20 feet high, and on through 



184 CHATTANOOGA 

beautiful satellites of adorned marble, you pass to the sepulchre 
of the departed King. 

But while these ancient monuments far surpass us in archi- 
tectural grandeur and beautiful adornment, they were erected 
only in memory of their Kings and rulers. But with us, how 
different! We are here today to pay a nation's tribute to the 
humble soldier, the boy that wore the blue, the boy that carried 
the gun. 

It was our lot on the night of the twenty-fourth to be cut 
off from the Fifteenth Army Corps, by the enemy destroying 
our pontoon bridge by floating logs upon it and tearing it out. 
And our division, commanded by General Osterhaus, was 
ordered to join General Hooker at Lookout Mountain, and 
all day we fought our way up the rugged heights, and not until 
the shades of night had fallen around us did we reach its 
summit, and when we circled around the base of that mighty 
rock, the enemy still held possession above us, and their cannon 
belched forth no uncertain sound. There, facing a cold 
northern November wind, with no chance for building fires, 
we hugged to the rugged rocks through the long weary hours 
of the night, and at morning dawn, not knowing if the enemy 
had gone from above us, we crept silently out and soon found 
they had fled. 

On the morning of the twenty-fifth, we moved down by the 
little log cabin that stood there then, and on into the valley 
below and the First Brigade of the First Division of the 
Fifteenth Army Corps, commanded by General Woods, was 
ordered to move in the direction of Rossville Gap. Here per- 
mit me to digress a little, to relate a personal circumstance, 
that happened at the battle of Rossville Gap. 

The movement of our brigade down the valley was by the 
right flank. Off to our left the battle between General Sher- 
man and General Bragg was raging, and General Woods di- 
rected that a detail under charge of an officer be thrown out 
on the brow of the ridge to prevent surprise. I was the officer 
chosen. The men I do not now remember nor to what regi- 
ments they belonged. 



CHATTANOOGA 185 

The moving column made headway faster than we could, 
and some distance from the Gap we beheld a mounted officer 
attempting to scale the opposite side of the mountain; seeing us 
he reined his horse more directly to the top, but the guards saw 
him and turning their guns on him commanded him to halt. He 
had come dashing down through the narrow gap at full speed, 
and seeing our troops in the valley below at rest, but in line of 
battle, he had sought to make his escape by climbing the 
mountain. 

When asked who he was, he replied, "John C. Breckinridge's 
son." "Your rank?" "Major, sir." "Your command?" "I 
am on my father's staff." "How are we making it over 
there ?" "Whipping you like H " 

We walked together down into the valley, somewhere along 
here, and I turned him over to the General, stating who he was. 
The General put the same questions to him, and he answered 
him about the way he did me. He had a beautiful Kentucky 
mare, called Fannie, and when the General ordered that he 
be taken to the rear with the other prisoners, he put his arms 
around the mare's neck and kissed her, and said something like 
this, "Fannie, you have taken me through many a dangerous 
place, but we must part at last. Goodbye." 

In July, 1888, seeing there was in Congress a C. R. Breckin- 
ridge, and thinking he might be the one that was captured 
here, I wrote him a letter, giving him all the facts, and of 
his bravery and his manly deportment, of the mare, Fannie, 
and his kissing her, and what he said on parting. And in 
due time, by letter, I learned that the Breckinridge in Congress 
was not the one captured, but his brother, and that he had for- 
warded my letter to him at Olympia, Washington Territory, 
where he was in the U. S. survey service, under Cleveland, 
and that in due time I would hear from him. Here is his 
letter : 

Olympia, September 8, 1888. 
Major R, D. Cramer, Memphis, Mo. 

Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of July i6th, last, 
addressed to my brother, C. R. Breckinridge, Washington, D. 
C, and forwarded by him to me. 



186 CHATTANOOGA 

It was I who was captured at Rossville during the prog- 
ress of the battle of Misisonary Ridge, and well do I remember 
most of the circumstances to which you have alluded. 

While I do not feel that I deserve any special praise for 
doing a soldier's duty, it is none the less pleasant to know that 
my manly captors considered my conduct praiseworthy, and I 
will feel a certain pride in sending your letter to my oldest son, 
who is at school in the East, and who is just the age that I was 
when captured, though much larger. 

It is a tribute to American manhood that those who so 
fiercely opposed each other during our civil conflict can have 
friendly gatherings such as was recently witnessed on the ground 
where the battle of Gettysburg was fought, and I believe today 
that the truest friends of the Union are the men who fought in 
the opposing armies. 

With best wishes, I am. 

Yours very truly, 

J. Cabell Breckinridge. 

And now we come again, in this, the evening of life, to 
these battlefields, to perform the last sad, but grand and patri- 
otic duty, we owe to these our comrades in the days of the war, 
by dedicating and consecrating these lasting marble monuments 
to the memory of the brave and patriotic soldiers of Iowa 
that laid down their lives that this beloved land might become 
and indeed be the land of the free and the home of the brave; 
and that when we shall have passed over the river, and when 
our children's children shall visit these national cemeteries, in 
this far-away southland, and shall loolc upon these towering 
monuments and read the inscriptions carved thereon, they 
shall be stimulated and inspired to that high and noble citizen- 
ship, of patriotic devotion to this beloved land and the flag 
that floats triumphantly over these grassy mounds, in this, the 
City of the Dead. 

And may we not hope that the fact of the erection and dedi- 
cation of these monuments to American patriotic manhood, in 
the days of the war, may be borne on the wings of the wind to 
earth's remotest bounds, and when all the people of this be- 



CHATTANOOGA 187 

loved land shall joyously join in that patriotic and poetic verse 
of Whittier : 

"Flag of the free heart's only home, 
By angel's hands to valor given; 
Thy stars have lit the welcome dome, 
And all thy hues were born in Heaven." 

All honor to the lasting and patriotic memory of the people 
of Iowa and to her law-making power — her legislature — and 
to her governor, who signed the bill, that became the law, that 
has made the erection of these lasting marble monuments in 
these National cemeteries and battlefields a possibility ; and that 
we, at this opportune time, should be here to dedicate and con- 
secrate them to the loved ones of Iowa's fallen. 

And when the last great trumpet shall sound to awake the 
sleeping dead of earth and ocean's caves, may we with them 
be counted worthy to sweep through the gates of that city 
whose Builder and Maker is God, and where war's alarm shall 
come never more. 

I thank you. 



Music Fifty-fifth lov^a Regimental Band 

"Dixie " 

Address J. A. Caldv^ell 

of Chattanooga, Tennessee 

Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen of the Commission, Ladies and 

Fellow Countrymen: 

I am not here today because of any personal acquaintance 
with any citizen of your state. For eight long, weary months, 
I heard, but did not heed, the call of Iowa's sons and others 
seeking admission to the little city of Vicksburg. Our wel- 
come to them there was so long delayed that I was deprived 
of the pleasure of a personal acquaintance. And when they 
came here, I was back of those hills, enjoying a furlough which 
I carried as a memento of General Grant's kindness, and wait- 
ing for an exchange of prisoners that would put me back in the 



188 CHATTANOOGA 

ranks. And it has never yet been my good fortune to know 
very many of you. I am here today because I am a member 
of an Ex-Confederate organization, and I esteem it an honor 
to stand before you as a representative of N. B. Forrest Camp 
No. 4, U. C. v., a noble band of Confederate veterans, the 
avowed objects and purposes of whose organization are : — 
To perpetuate the memory of their fallen comrades; to min- 
ister to the wants of those disabled in service; to preserve the 
sentiment of fraternity born of the hardships and dangers 
shared in the march, the bivouac and the battlefield; and to 
extend to our late adversaries, on every fitting occasion, cour- 
tesies which are always proper between soldiers, and which, in 
our case, a common citizenship demands at our hands. 

We took for our camp the name of the "Wizard of the 
Saddle," because his military genius and deeds of valor won 
our admiration, the respect of all those who felt his steel, and 
the encomiums of the civilized world. He and his gallant men 
fought as soldiers while the armies opposed each other in the 
field, and when peace came they made first class, patriotic 
citizens. Their swords became plowshares, and they struggled 
with equal zeal and earnestness in the efforts to rehabilitate a 
devastated country, under a constitution, their construction of 
which had been settled against them forever by the arbitrament 
of those swords. 

We have honestly endeavored to carry out and live up to 
the well known objects and purposes of our camp, and this is 
another one of those auspicious occasions, provided for in our 
by-laws, when we gladly avail ourselves of the opportunity, 
so generously and courteously offered by the committee in 
charge of these exercises, and cheerfully lend a helping hand in 
this grand work of perpetuating the memory of their comrades 
who fell on the world renowned battlefields in this vicinity. 
We appreciate your kindly courtesy, and I am commissioned to 
assure you of our pleasure in being with you today. Standing 
on this historic ground, under the shadow of this beautiful 
cenotaph, midway between three of those memorable fields of 
strife with their thousands of markers and monuments erected 
by so many organizations and states to commemorate the hero- 



CHATTANOOGA 189 

Ism of the men who sacrificed their lives on the altar of duty In 
the dark days of the sixties, and surrounded by these grand 
old hills and fertile valleys of Georgia and Tennessee, which 
now sing the same sweet songs of liberty and patriotism that 
gladdened the ears and hearts of our common forefathers in 
the eighteenth century, and Inspired them to fly to arms at 
their country's call — in the name of N. B. Forrest Camp, I 
bid you God speed in the noble work of this day. We respect 
and honor you because you love and reverence your dead, even 
as we hold dear and sacred the memory of our comrades in 
arms who suffered, endured and died at the bidding of the 
states which gave them homes and firesides. 

In years to come, Iowa's sons and daughters, when they 
visit the scenes of their childhood or the homes of their an- 
cestors In Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, will look with 
patriotic pride upon this and other monuments erected to per- 
petuate the courageous valor of those who went to war at 
her call. Thousands will make pilgrimages to this section and 
learn patriotic lessons from reading these inscriptions and con- 
templating the scenes of the long ago conflicts in which an- 
other generation engaged. It is well to remember the dead 
and to pay frequent and lasting tributes to their memory. I 
love the sentiment uttered many years ago by a veteran Gen- 
eral, who afterward rendered his people faithful and conspic- 
uous service in the United States senate. When a fund had 
been contributed for the erection of a memorial as a tribute 
of love to the sons of the state who had laid down their lives 
in our great conflict and it was suggested that the money be 
utilized in erecting a public building so as to serve a useful 
pui-pose while at the same time honoring their dead, the old 
hero said, "Never! Let us make of It a memorial which shall 
have no other purpose under heaven than that of honoring the 
dead." 

By the blood of tens of thousands of immortal heroes on 
both sides — 15,000 of whom sleep over there — blood shed in 
hundreds of fiercely contested struggles, the well remembered 
blue and gray have blended into white. The gallant contestants 
laid down their arms, shook hands, and returned to their homes. 



190 CHATTANOOGA 

The great, silent victor said, "Let us have peace." We have it. 
For us and milHons yet unborn it is most important to cultivate 
and foster a feeling of patriotic pride and reverence for the 
great institutions of our magnificent, common country. We 
should be and we are deeply grateful for the existence of that 
sentiment of fraternity so prevalent in these latter days, which 
enables us to meet together today as comrades and friends; to 
vie with each other in patriotic devotion to the grand old 
standards of our reunited country; to forget the criminations 
and recriminations of by-gone days, and strive together, as 
one man, for the uplifting and upbuilding of this whole coun- 
try and the permanent good and lasting welfare of all its 
citizens. Let each and every one of us do our duty now and 
hereafter, as we did during those four years of memorable 
strife. 



Music Fifty-fifth lov^a Regimental Band 

" America " 



IOWA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN 
AND MISSIONARY PIDGE 

MONUMENT^ — XOMMISSIOIN 




FRED R 
SPENCER 



THE COMMISSION AND ITS WORK 



MEMBERS. 

Thomas C. Alexander, Oakland, Fourth Iowa infantry. 

Elias B. Bascom, Lansing, Fifth Iowa infantry. 

Alexander J. Miller, Oxford, Sixth Iowa infantry. 

Alonzo Abernethy, Osage, Ninth Iowa infantry. 

Mahlon Head, Jefferson, Tenth Iowa infantry. 

Fred P. Spencer, Randolph, Seventeenth Iowa infantry. 

John A. Young, Washington, Twenty-fifth Iowa infantry. 

Joseph D. Fegan, Clinton, Twenty-sixth Iowa infantry. 

* Frank Critz, Riverside, Thirtieth Iowa infantry. 

Solomon B. Humbert, Cedar Falls, Thirty-first Iowa in- 
fantry, 

EUiott Frazier, Morning Sun, First Iowa battery. 

Chairman — John A. Young, Washington. 

Secretary — Alonzo Abernethy, Osage. 

The Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge Monument 
Commission appointed by Governor Cummins, in compliance 
with chapter 197, laws of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, 
for the erection of monuments on the battlefields about Chat- 
tanooga, Tennessee, let the contract early in 1903 for three 
state monuments, as provided by law. 

Two of the monuments were completed early in 1904, and 
the material for the third and larger one was all in position a 
month later, except a half dozen blocks of granite, one of the 
number a thirty-foot shaft, weighing forty tons. Three suc- 
cessive accidents occurred in attempts to place this shaft In posi- 
tion. Each time it received some injury. 

Finally a third shaft was shipped from Barre, Vermont, in 
January, 1906, placed in position two months later, and the 
whole monument completed and accepted March 15th. This 
completed the work of the commission. 

*Appointed to fill vacancy caused by death of Samuel H. Watkins. 

(191) 



192 CHATTANOOGA 

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE MONUMENTS. 

Each monument contains a number of historical, patriotic 
and memorial inscriptions. The principal inscriptions on each 
monument are placed on the four faces of a large square block 
of polished granite called the die, and one face of each die 
has its polished surface so margined as to represent the shape 
of the map of Iowa, with its river borders on the east and 
west. The name IOWA appears also conspicuously on nearly 
every face of each monument, so that when approached from 
any direction by friend or stranger, no one need ask: "Whose 
monument is this?" 

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. 

The monument on Lookout Mountain stands near the center 
of the Government reservation, in a sightly place, in front of 
the famous Craven House, around which raged the fiercest 
conflict of the contending hosts for the retention and the capture 
of this imposing stronghold, on that dismal afternoon of No- 
vember 24, 1863, while gloomy clouds encircled the towering 
palisades and sunshine crowned the summit. This first victory 
of Chattanooga was named the same night, by Benjamin F. 
Taylor, an eye-witness, as "The Battle Above the Clouds." 
The monument is fifty feet high upon a fifteen-foot square 
base. The main shaft is eighteen feet four inches in length 
by three by three feet in width. The die course contains four 
panels, with areas four feet seven inches by five feet each. The 
fourth course contains eight panels, with areas one foot two 
and one-half inches by two feet two inches each. The inscrip- 
tions on this monument are as follows : 

Front Panel: 

Iowa remembers her patriot sons 
Who went forth at the call of duty 

To honor their country 
In the dreadful carnage of war. 



CHATTANOOGA 193 

Right Panel: 

Williamson's brigade assisted 
In the capture of this position 

And was engaged 

On the Union right and front 

Throughout the afternoon and evening, 

The 31st Iowa on the right, 

Reaching the foot of the palisades. 



Left Panel: 

"In the battle above the clouds." 

Williamson's Brigade, Osterhaus' Division, 15th Army Corps. 

Lookout Mountain, November 24th, 1863. 

Missionary Ridge, November 25th, 1863. 

Ringgold, Ga., November 27th, 1863. 



Rear Panel: 

May the heroism 

Which dedicated this lofty field 

To immortal renown 

Be as imperishable 

As the Union is eternal. 



Fourth Course: 

Front — 4th Infantry, Lieut. Col. George Burton. 

9th Infantry, Col. D. Carskaddon. 
Right — 25th Infantry, Col. George A. Stone. 

26th Infantry, Col. Milo Smith. 
Rear — 30th Infantry, Lieut. Col. A. Roberts. 

31st Infantry, Lieut. Col. J. W. Jenkins. 
Left — I St Battery, Lieut. J. M. Williams. 
(Cartridge box and forty rounds.) 
(Design.) 



Mon.— 13 



194 CHATTANOOGA 

SHERMAN HEIGHTS. 

The Sherman Heights monument is also fifty feet high, and 
stands on the Government reservation, near the summit of the 
north end of Missionary Ridge, on the spot captured by Gen- 
eral Corse's Iowa brigade on the morning of November 25th, 
and held till the close of the battle. Around this spot raged 
till nearly nightfall the fiercest fighting of the day that crowned 
Grant's final victory in the west for the year 1 863. 

The base of this monument is an octagon fifteen feet six 
inches by fifteen feet six inches. The main shaft is eighteen 
feet in length by three by three feet in width. The die course 
contains four panels with areas of three feet six inches by four 
feet each. The inscriptions on this monument are as follows: 

Die Course. 

Front Panel : 

Iowa dedicates this monument 

In honor of her sons 

Who on this and other fields 

Proved themselves worthy sons 

Of patriotic sires. 



Right Panel: 



This monument marks the position 

Carried by the 6th Iowa 

In the assault of Corse's Brigade 

The morning of Nov. 25, 1863. 

Repeated charges were made later 

On the enemy's line north of the tunnel. 

The 5th, loth and 17th Iowa 

Were hotly engaged and lost heavily 

On the immediate right. 



CHATTANOOGA 

Left Panel: 

5th Infantry, Col. Jabez Banbury, 

3d Brigade, 2d Division, 17th Army Corps. 
6th Infantry, Lieut. Col. A. J. Miller, 

2d Brigade, 4th Division, 15th Army Corps, 
loth Infantry, Lieut. Col. P. P. Henderson, 

3d Brigade, 2d Division, 17th Army Corps. 
17th Infantry, Col. Clark R. Wever, 

2d Brigade, 2d Division, 17th Army Corps. 



195 



Rear Panel: 

IOWA LOSSES ON SHERMAN HEIGHTS, NOVEMBER 25, I 863. 





KILLED 


WOUNDED 


HISSING 






ID 
1.1 

e 



6 



« 





rs 
» 


« 


a 



«g 


Total 


6th Infantry 




2 
7 

10 
12 


2 

4 

6 
3 


20 
53 
36 
29 


8 


74 


106 


6th Infantry 


1 
2 


65 


10th Infantry 


1 
1 


7 
13 


62 


17th Infantry 


68 










3 


31 


15 


138 


10 


94 


291 



Fifth Course. 

Front Panel : — "You have made it a high privilege 

To be 
A citizen of Iowa." (Kirkwood) 

ROSSVILLE GAP. 

The Rossville Gap monument is seventy-two feet high. It 
stands in the National Military Park, Iowa reservation, and 
is erected here in memory of all the Iowa soldiers who took 
part in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge 
and Ringgold, Georgia. 

The base of this monument is an octagon twenty by twenty 
feet. The shaft is thirty feet in length by four by four feet 
in width. The course contains four panels with areas of three 



196 CHATTANOOGA 

feet nine inches by four feet ten and a half inches each. The 
fourth course contains four panels, with areas of one foot ten 
inches by five feet four and one-half inches each. The third 
course contains twelve panels, with areas two feet by three feet 
six inches each. The inscriptions on the various panels of this 
monument are as follows: 

Die Course. 

Front Panel: 

May this shaft register alike 

The sacrifice of our fallen brothers, 

And our purpose to perpetuate their memory 

By citizenship worthy of the heritage they left us, 

A reunited and glorious union. 



Right Panel : — Coat of Arms of Iowa, with the words 

"Our liberties we prize. 
And our rights we will maintain." 



Left Panel : 

In the final contest for Missionary Ridge, 
Four Iowa regiments were engaged on the Confederate right 

flank, 

Six others with battery on the Confederate left and rear. 

The movement from Rossville brought the latter past this 

position. 

Ending later in the assault upon the Ridge, 

And two days afterwards in the battle of Ringgold, Ga. 



CHATTANOOGA 



197 



Rear Panel 



IOWA LOSSES. 



WOUNDED 






Total 



4th Infantry 

5th Infantry 

6th Infantry 

9th Infantry . 

10th Infantry , 

17th Infantry 

25th Infantry 

26th Infantry , 

30th Infantry , 

31st Infantry 

1st Battery ., 



29 



255 



96 



49 
106 
65 
15 
62 
58 
29 
16 
27 
19 



Fourth Course : — Right Panel : 



Iowa erects this monument 
In memory of all her soldiers 
Who took part in the battles of 
Lookout Mountain, 
Missionary Ridge, 
and Ringgold, Ga. 



Left Panel: 

"The state of Iowa Is proud of your achievements 
And renders you her homage and gratitude. 
And with exultant heart claims you as her sons." 

— Kirkwood. 



Third Course : — Twelve Panels 



4th Infantry, Lieut. Col. George Burton. 
5th Infantry, Col. Jabez Banbury. 
6th Infantry, Lieut. Col. A. J. Miller. 
9th Infantry, Col. David Carskaddon. 
loth Infantry, Lieut. Col. P. P. Henderson. 



198 CHATTANOOGA 

17th Infantry, Col. Clark R. Wever. 
25th Infantry, Col. George A. Stone. 
26th Infantry, Col. Milo Smith. 
30th Infantry, Lieut. Col. Aurelius Roberts. 
31st Infantry, Lieut, Col. Jeremiah W. Jenkins. 
I St Battery, Lieut. James M. Williams. 

(Cartridge box and forty rounds.) 
(Design.) 



SHILOH 



Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862 



[Extract from General U. S. Grant's Memoirs, pages 355-356] 

"Shiloh was the severest battle fought at the west 
during the war, and but few in the east equaled it 
for hard, determined fighting." 



The following statement of numbers engaged and 
losses sustained, is compiled from the official reports 
of Union and Confederate commanders and Is his- 
torically correct. 

The Union Army of the Tennessee numbered 
39,830 and the Confederate Army of the Mississippi 
43,968 on the morning of April 6, 1862. — On the 
second day of the battle the Army of the Ohio num- 
bering 17,918 re-Inforced the Army of the Tennessee. 
The total loss of the Union Army on both days was 
13,047 — or 22 per cent. The total loss of the Con- 
federate Army on both days was 10,699 — o^* ^4 P^'' 
cent. The total number on both sides was 101,716 
and the total loss was 23,746 — or 23I/2 per cent. 
Iowa had 6,664 engaged with a total loss of 2,409 — 
or 36 per cent. 



INTRODUCTORY 



The ceremonies attending the dedication of Iowa monuments 
on the battlefield of Shiloh as outlined by the official program, 
were arranged for November 23, 1906, i :30 p.m., at the Iowa 
State Monument, near Pittsburg Landing. 

The commission desiring that further tribute should be paid 
to the Iowa soldiers at Shiloh on the sacred ground where, with 
their respective regiments they met the foe, was instrumental 
in so arranging the itinerary as to give a day for services at the 
Iowa regimental monuments in various parts of the Shiloh field. 
Accordingly it was planned that two days should be spent on 
the battlefield, the party to arrive at Pittsburg Landing 
Thursday morning, November twenty-second, and to depart 
the following evening, and that the regimental exercises should 
be held on the morning of the first day. 

These exercises involved the matter of transportation for 
one hundred and fifty people or more over a five-mile circuit 
at a place where there were no public conveyances. To ob- 
viate the difficulties anticipated, an arrangement was made to 
bring carriages from Corinth and other distant towns; but 
while at Chattanooga the commission was notified that this 
plan had been abandoned because of high water which had 
made the streams next to impassable. In the dilemma the 
chairman of the commission, Colonel W. B. Bell, left the gov- 
ernor's party, going by rail to Corinth, thence by team to the 
Landing, and spent a day driving through the surrounding 
region, rousing the inhabitants to the necessity for providing 
transportation of some sort, and notifying them to bring what 
they had to "the store" at the Landing at 8 130 A.M. the next 
day. The Tennesseans came, some twenty-five in number, with 
teams of horses and mules, with lumber wagons in variety, and 
as the governor's party marched up from the river preceded by 

(201) 



202 SHILOH 

the band, all were given seats in the unique conveyances and 
the procession moved out upon the field. 

The exercises of this day were in charge of Captain Charles 
W. Kepler, who led the procession and determined the order in 
which it should move, which was, proceeding first to the extreme 
right of the Union battle line, thence dedicating the monuments 
in the order in which they came while moving from the right 
to the left. At each regimental position the company alighted 
and forming in a group about the monument joined in loving 
tribute to those whom the memorial honored. 

The dedication ceremonies began at the monument of the 
1 6th Infantry. 








• I WA 






ONE OF THE ELEVEN REGIMENTAL MONUMENTS ERECTED AT SHILOH 



Exercises at Sixteenth Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



9:00 A. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

" Nearer. My God, To Thee " 

Invocation Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"We give unto thee, O God, our thanks that we are per- 
mitted to gather in the beautiful sunshine of today, to dedicate 
to good men and brave men and true men and patriotic men, 
these monuments. In the name of the Lord God of Hosts, 
Iowa here dedicates them to the memory of these men. May it 
be that from this day and from these exercises and from all 
that shall be carried back to our state from the influence and 
the ceremonies of these days, there may be awakened a deeper 
spirit of patriotism, a deeper consecration to the great ends for 
which governments are established among men. We rejoice 
that the efforts of these men, who here surrendered their lives, 
were not in vain. We rejoice that if they know now anything 
of the result of their sacrifices, they are permitted to rejoice 
that they did not die in vain. 

"We pray that thy blessing may be upon our state, upon 
her families, her youth, her soldiers, and may we so learn 
the duties of citizens and be so inspired by the spirit of patriot- 
ism, so appreciative of the higher virtues of citizenship, that 
we shall be truly a greater people than we have yet been, learn- 
ing lessons of the past, and made rich in the wisdom which is 
from above. 

"Lord, accept our thanks and our petitions, and give us 
the help that we need, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
Amen." 



204 SHILOH 

Address Lieutenant John Hayes 

Sixteenth Iowa Regiment 

Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Upon a Sabbath morning in the long ago, a body of newly 
made soldiers disembarked at Pittsburg Landing, marched by 
companies to the brow of the hill, for the first time received 
ammunition, were told how to load the new Springfield muskets 
which had been given them at St. Louis but a few days before, 
and then formed as a regiment under the banner of the Sixteenth 
Iowa Volunteers. 

This, the last Iowa regiment enrolled under the call of '6i, 
had been a long time "filling up," as the phrase was. Fall and 
winter had passed since the first companies went into camp and 
the regimental organization had been completed only thirteen 
days before this eventful morning, so that a common prophecy, 
"the war will end before the men reach the field," which had 
been derisively hurled at the "Sixteenth" for months, seemed in 
a fair way to be fulfilled. 

But all such delusions were now swept away by the warlike 
surroundings, the roar of artillery and the order to march which 
quickly followed — for the battle of Shiloh had begun. 

About ten o'clock the regiment emerged from the timber 
at the northeastern part of this open field — now known as 
Jones' Field. It moved westerly about half across the field, 
then took a southerly course, descended into the draw, and 
after briefly halting there again moved forward. Preceded 
by the Fifteenth regiment, it was marching by the flank, or, 
as known in present tactics, in column, and the band was 
playing, "The Girl I Left Behind Me." The oflicers sup- 
posed that they were being conducted to join McClernand's 
division, but soon after passing the draw, the regiment was 
opened upon by the enemy's artillery and musketry from the 
timber toward which it was marching. It advanced further, 
then formed line of battle, and after some confusion of orders 
took a position here. At times lying down and at times 
standing, the men fought as best they were able, some seeking 
the protection of a fence which then bordered the field. No 
support at right of them, no support at left of them, other than 



SHILOH 205 

the Fifteenth regiment, while a Confederate battery and in- 
fantry in the timber at their front dealt destruction to the 
command. In an hour or more a retreat was ordered, and the 
regiment retired with a loss of 131 men. 

Of these, some found here a soldier's sepulchre; some 
stricken unto death were removed from this locality and in 
hospital passed away; some incapable of further service sought 
their homes, there to nurse their wounds till life's sad end, while 
others, restored, rejoined their command and with it moved 
onward through death-dealing camps to further conflicts, to 
wearisome marches and long campaigns. 

To Corinth, to luka, to Vicksburg, to Kenesaw, to Nicka- 
jack, to Atlanta — names that in memory stand for agonies en- 
dured, for battles, sieges, prison pens which typified the hell of 
war. Then onward in the historic march to Savannah, to 
Columbia, to Bentonville, to Raleigh, and with the conquering 
hosts to share in the Grand Review at the National Capital. 

Only a fraction of the Union army, its organization 926, its 
subsequent enlistments 521, in all 1,447 men, followed the 
Sixteenth flag. Among them, during the years of their service, 
there were 859 casualties classified as "killed, wounded, died of 
wounds, died of disease, and discharged for disability," and 
there were 257 captures, making total casualties 1,116. What 
sorrows at home and in the field these numbers speak. They 
tell of days of pain and nights of anguish, of broken hearts and 
grief which knew no end. 

And death and suffering like this, a thousand times multi- 
plied, befell the great Union army, — 360,000 dead at the close 
of the war, of which Iowa gave 13,000 young lives. 

"Spreading the board, but tasting not its cheer, 
Sowing, but never reaping; 
Building, but never sitting in the shade 
Of the strong mansion they have made." 

A grateful commonwealth has erected this monument thus 
to honor her sons, who, for love of country, fought and suf- 
fered here. So long as it endures, it will stand a witness to the 



206 SHILOH 

patriotic fervor which inspired the high resolve to maintain 
the American Union; a witness to lofty purpose faithfully 
executed; to sacrifices unto death. 

For all the kindness a dear state has shown to those who fol- 
lowed the colors of her Sixteenth regiment, and for this testi- 
monial to their fidelity, they who remain of that command, for 
themselves, and for voiceless comrades, extend a loving 
acknowledgment. 



Exercises at Fifteenth Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



9:25 A. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

" America " 

Address Major H. C. Mc Arthur 

Fifteenth Iowa Regiment 

Governor Cummins, Members of the Iowa Commission, Com- 
rades of the Old Army, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
"Truth is mighty, and will prevail." The principle of 
truth, justice and right did prevail on this battlefield in 1862, 
and, we are happy to say, again in this year 1906, else sur- 
vivors of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Iowa Volunteers would 
not be present on this occasion with survivors of other Iowa 
regiments to recognize heroic action, pay homage for noble 
deed and valuable service rendered in preserving the best Gov- 
ernment on earth. With you. Governor Cummins, and the 
noble people of our beloved State, we rejoice at the completion 
of this monument with the exact truth inscribed thereon. It 
is a good omen when patriots are honored and patriotism ex- 
alted. It did not, however, require this monument to convince 
the survivors of the Fifteenth Iowa Volunteers of the willing- 
ness and desire of our people to honor her sons who, in this, the 
first great field fight of the war, and up to that time the greatest 
battle of modern times, bore the stars and stripes in victorious 
conflict. Our citizens, though crowded with the busy cares 
of life, remember well, how forty- four years ago, the sixth and 
seventh of last April, armies were contending here over a prin- 
ciple vital to the very existence of our government; and that 
Iowa had eleven regiments engaged upon this battlefield who 
did nobly in defense of the flag. This ground is made sacred 

(207) 



208 SHILOH 

and historic by deeds of valor and sacrifice in the noblest cause 
— human liberty. We celebrate the achievements of patriot 
heroes. The nation's life had been assailed, defenders sprang 
to the call, ready to die that the nation might live. Although 
one of them from 1861 to 1865, and proud of the distinguished 
honor, I claim nothing unduly when I say the members of the 
Fifteenth Iowa Infantry Volunteers deserve the approbation so 
freely bestowed. What your soldiers bore of danger here, no 
one can adequately describe. The command arrived at Pitts- 
burg Landing from St. Louis, Missouri, about daylight on 
Sunday morning, April 6, 1862; soon artillery was heard in 
the distance, the command, in light marching order, was hur- 
riedly disembarked, forming line on top of the hill. About 
eight o'clock a.m., General Grant arrived, and while convers- 
ing with Colonel Reid of the Fifteenth Iowa, a staff officer 
approached in great haste, reporting General McClernand's 
right sorely pressed and desiring reinforcements. Colonel 
Reid with the Fifteenth and Colonel Chambers with the Six- 
teenth Iowa, were directed thither. Between eight and nine 
o'clock A.M., both regiments were put in rapid motion toward 
the point designated. The recollection of that march to this 
point of attack, is as vivid to my mind as if made but yesterday. 
We hear again the command of the officers, the roar of distant 
artillery and musketry; we see dashing orderlies, the rapid ad- 
vance, the forming line, the charging column, the wounded, the 
dying, the dead. Oh, how plainly we see, in panoramic view, 
the scenes of that morning. 

How well do we remember the discouraging remarks made 
by the wounded and stragglers — a very trying experience for 
new troops on the eve of battle. A terrible volley of musketry 
in advance satisfied us the fighting line was not far away. 

"Hotter and fiercer grows the din, 
Deeper the panting troops press in." 

While marching through yonder field the band struck up 
"The Girl I Left Behind Me." This familiar tune seemed to 
nerve the men to step with firmer tread, determined to do their 



SHILOH 209 

duty when the battle's front was reached. We were marching 
in column of fours, therefore unprepared to resist attack, neither 
thinking that — 

"In these woods there waiting lay 
Hidden lines of dingy gray, 
Through which we must cleave our way." 

The front of the column had passed two-thirds across that 
field. 

"Hark! on the right a rifle rings, 
A rolling volley back it brings. 
Crash, crash, along the line there runs 
The music of a thousand guns. 
Spurring the panting, steaming steed, 
Dash orderlies at top of speed." 

The discharge of artillery in our very faces was the nature of 
our reception. We formed line of battle from the flank, the 
Sixteenth Iowa promptly taking position on our right, and for 
two hours, from ten to twelve o'clock, forenoon, these two Iowa 
regiments had their engagement, unsupported on the right or 
left by any other troops. They had been ambushed some dis- 
tance back of the front general line of battle by a Confederate 
force which had passed through a gap in our line, which we 
now know existed to a damaging extent, between the left of 
Sherman and McClernand's right; although so unexpectedly 
assaulted, officers and men behaved with great gallantry. An- 
other hath said : "Seldom, if ever, had older troops withstood 
the shock of battle with greater fortitude or more heroic courage 
than did these new Iowa regiments." The men were unused 
to war. This was their first experience in skirmish or battle. 
The command had received their arms but a few days before. 
No opportunity of learning their use until brought face to face 
in mortal combat with a very active foe. The blast of artillery 
and volley of musketry, coming so unexpectedly as it did, to- 
gether with the formation in which we were moving, the wonder 
of it all is, the command had not been driven in utter confusion 

Mon.-14 



210 SHILOH 

from the field. Not so, however. Under a raking cross-fire the 
regiment was changed from flank to line of battle; moved for- 
ward like veterans, forced the enemy from their concealments, 
and held this position for two hours, until, to escape capture, 
it was ordered to retire. The casualties of our regiment, 206, 
as per the revised records of Iowa, discloses the character of 
our engagement. The time the enemy was held in check evi- 
dences the staying quality of these Iowa boys — worthy followers 
of the older Iowa troops. This proved a bloody baptism for 
the regiment, but glorious in patriotic achievement. Officers 
and men counted no effort too great nor dangerous, nor sacrifice 
too dear while defending the "old flag." 

"How they cheered and how they rallied. 
How they charged mid shot and shell. 
How they bore aloft the banner, 

How they conquered, how they fell." 

Nowhere on this field, nor in any other field of battle for the 
Union, was the honor of Iowa put in jeopardy by the action of 
her soldiery, and upon no field of conflict did she achieve greater 
honor for stalwart bravery and patriotic devotion than on this 
historic ground. They were battling for the unity of the nation, 
for the very life of the Republic. 

War, dread war; here on that eventful day it was indeed a 
reality; it seems like a dream, yet terrible. Intervening time 
has to a great extent healed the wounds caused by cruel war. 
We thank God it is so. We hope and believe no future act will 
mar the beauty of the dear old flag, stain its purity or degrade 
its authority. It is a guarantee of protection to ourselves and 
children within the confines of every civilized nation on earth. 
Isn't such a flag, with such complete and happy protection, a 
precious boon ? Its authority was upheld on this hotly contested 
ground by the Union army, and Iowa troops contributed their 
full share toward the grand result. 

The commonwealth of Iowa believing her soldiers performed 
their duty here faithfully and well, have, in a spirit of magna- 
nimity and patriotism, caused these monuments to be erected — 



SHILOH 211 

a glorious consummation of generous desire and noble inten- 
tion. This expression of their gratitude and confidence is greatly 
appreciated by the survivors of the Fifteenth Iowa Veteran 
Volunteers. It is a very great satisfaction in being fully as- 
sured, as we arc, that the memory of our fallen comrades who 
gave their last and best measure of devotion, their lives, that 
the Union might be preserved, and that the deeds and sacri- 
fices of all are enshrined in the hearts of a grateful people. 
We are happy in the belief that this block of granite must defy 
the corroding touch of time if it fully represents the lasting 
gratitude the people of Iowa have for what her patriotic sons 
did here on April 6, 1862. And now, here upon this spot made 
memorable and sacred by loyal sacrifice in a noble cause, to you, 
Governor Cummins, the members of the Iowa Shiloh Com- 
mission, and through you to the citizens of patriotic Iowa, in 
behalf of the survivors of the Fifteenth Iowa Volunteers, and 
for those whose white tents are pitched on '"fame's eternal 
camping-ground," I thank all most heartily and sincerely for 
this magnificent monument, a testimonial of our good conduct, 
devotion to duty, flag and country In time of national peril. 



Benediction Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

of Allerton, Iowa 

"May the grace of our Father rest upon all. May we con- 
tinue to move under the banner of the wings of His love, and all 
that we think, say and do be approved by Him, and all 
be kept in the knowledge and love of the truth In this world, and 
saved to an eternal home In heaven in Jesus' name. Amen." 



Exercises at Sixth Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



9:45 A. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Lead, Kindly Light" 

Introduction of Speaker . Captain Charles W. Kepler 

A son of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander J. Miller, who at the 
time of the battle of Shiloh was Lieutenant of Co. G, Sixth 
Iowa, but who on July i8, 1863, became Lieutenant Colonel 
of the regiment, will speak a few words for the Sixth Iowa In- 
fantry. 



Address Jesse A. Miller 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We have heard this morning that certain regiments went into 
this battle as green troops. That is true of almost all the regi- 
ments that were here, for this was one of the early battles of the 
war, but there was no regiment that was placed here in as bad 
a predicament as the Sixth Iowa. On the morning that the 
battle commenced, its Colonel was in command of a brigade. 
Its Major was away on staff duty, and its Lieutenant Colonel 
was drunk and unable to command the regiment. The regiment 
fought here on this field for some time, without any commanding 
officer at all, except its company commanders, and when the 
commander of the brigade found that the Lieutenant Colonel 
was drunk he had him placed under arrest and sent to the rear. 
Captain Williams, who was not a ranking captain, was placed 
in command, and he commanded the regiment during the battle, 
until he was wounded, and then Captain Walden was placed in 
command. And so, while I say they were green troops, they 

(212) 



SHILOH 213 

were even worse off than other regiments, for they started with- 
out any commanding officers at all, and when they got one, he 
was not the one who had commanded them in the past. And 
yet this regiment did as valiant service as any regiment en- 
gaged. This regiment lost more men killed and mortally 
wounded in this battle than any other from Iowa, and more than 
any other regiment engaged, either north or south, with pos- 
sibly one exception. I believe the Ninth Illinois had more men 
killed or mortally wounded here than the Sixth Iowa. 

Throughout this battle, when Albert Sidney Johnston in the 
front was charging them, this regiment stood as a wall until 
they were driven back, and when driven back, although sepa- 
rated into two detachments, they again formed and on the sec- 
ond day of the battle they again went into the fight and fought 
until the end of the engagement. 

This monument is erected to the memory of those who fought 
and suffered here, and it is a fitting memorial. The thing it 
teaches to us is not so much the valor of those who died and 
suffered here, as that we who come after them must live a high 
and noble life to merit what our forefathers have done for us. 
I, as one who was born after the war, as one who knows nothing 
of the war except as I have heard and read, feel that I am a 
better man and will live a better life for having visited these 
battlefields; and I believe that the people of all the states of this 
Union would be better citizens if they would visit the battlefields 
and see what we have seen and hear what we have heard. I 
hope that as the days go by and as the years roll on, that annu- 
ally there will be pilgrimages from the north and from the 
south to these fields, that inspiration may be received by others, 
as it has been received by us, and that these memorials will ever 
tend to raise the citizenship of this country and make the people 
of this nation a better and higher type of civilization than any 
that has gone before. 



Benediction Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

of Allerton, Iowa 

"Our Father and our God, we praise thee for all of this 
great work and for this great regiment. Do thou bless the 



214 SHILOH 

Sixth Iowa, Its living and its dead; Lord bless and care for them 
all. Help us who are here today to know that our part Is linked 
together with all of these great regiments on this and other 
fields, and do thou keep us all near to thee, looking forward 
and upward to better things, with purity of heart and life. May 
we keep our schools, our churches, our homes and our land, in 
all of its civilization, growing wondrously, in the great Re- 
deemer's name. Amen." 



Exercises at Eleventh Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



10:00 A. M. 
Music Pifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"The Vacant Chair" 

Address Captain G. O. Morgridge 

Eleventh Iowa Regiment 

Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Today we stand in the presence of the dead. It Is a day 
full of solemn memories to those who participated in the events 
that transpired here in 1862. It was at this place that the 
regiment which this monument commemorates gave up many 
lives and endured much suffering in its country's service. After 
Iowa resolved to commemorate her heroes by rearing monu- 
ments to mark the places where they fought, I was appointed 
by Governor Shaw commissioner for the Eleventh regiment. 
His action was recommended by Colonel A. M. Hare, Colonel 
Ben Beach, and many officers and men of the regiment. Today 
it is my pleasure to present to you a mass of granite located 
where the regiment fought and many fell. It will say to the 
world after we who remain have joined our comrades, and until 
this stone shall crumble in the dust, "These stood for Liberty." 

*The inscription on the front of this monument gives in brief 
the regiment's place on this field. The rear inscription I did 
not prepare and have never approved, nor has it ever been ap- 
proved by the Iowa commission. It is not in accord with our 
Colonel William Hall's official report of the part taken by our 
regiment in the engagement. 

♦note— In order to avoid anything which might mar the spirit of the occasion, this para- 
graph was omitted in reading. 



(215; 



216 SHILOH 

Colonel Cornelius Cadle, chairman of the Shiloh na- 
tional military park commission, said: 

"Mr. Chairman: 

"The regiment whose monument has just been dedicated was 
commanded by Colonel A. M. Hare. In this battle he com- 
manded the First brigade of McClernand's division, was se- 
verely wounded and carried from the field. His daughter has 
just placed upon the monument a wreath of immortelles, in 
memory of her father and his comrades. I present to you Mrs. 
Ida Hare Warfield." 

Mrs. Warfield expressed her appreciation of being- 
present on the ground where her father fought. 



Benediction Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"Accept, O God, this stone, before our people and before 
thee — lest we forget. We would cherish in our hearts thoughts 
for those who gave themselves for us, for our common country 
— who contributed all that they were that government by the 
people might stand perpetually. We thank thee for the sac- 
rifices made here, and we pray thee that from them we may 
learn the lesson of true devotion; that so we may become a 
people that shall stand among the people of the earth able to 
govern ourselves. 

"And may the peace that passeth understanding, the peace 
that rests upon the dead, the Divine peace of truth and right, be 
upon all the people, in the Redeemer's name. Amen." 



Exercises at Thirteenth Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



10:15 A, M. 
Music Pifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Home, Sweet Home" 

Address Captain Charles W. Kepler 

Thirteenth Iowa Regiment 

Comrades of the Thirteenth Iowa, Governor Cummins, Ladies 

and Gentlemen: 

Forty-four years ago and more, on this sacred spot, the Thir- 
teenth Iowa Infantry formed its first line of battle to resist the 
assaults of the enemy. 

Fortunate mortals are we to live to see this day; to witness 
with our own eyes what the loyal and generous people of Iowa 
have done to perpetuate the memory of her soldiers. Standing 
here before this beautiful monument, placed here by the gener- 
ous and loyal people of Iowa, what memories come thronging 
back to us from the distant past, mingled with joy and sadness; 
memories of those dark and stormy days when a war cloud 
hung over this country like a pall of night. Brother had taken 
up arms against brother. The air was filled with the melody of 
the fife and drum. The whole earth seemed to tremble with the 
mighty tramp of the armies going forth to battle; memories 
of a young, happy manhood, with all the hopes and ambitions 
of the future; the camp life; the drill; the inspection; the 
reveille; the tattoo; the wounded; the dying; the dead; our 
gallant and brave commander, Colonel Crocker; our company 
commanders; our bunk-mates; our mothers and sweethearts all 
left behind; the thoughts of loved ones at home, just before 
the battle, all come thronging back to us on this occasion. Is 
it all a dream ? No ! it is a reality. 

(217) 



218 SHILOH 

If all the living officers and men of that grand old regiment 
that formed its first line of battle here more than forty-four 
years ago were here present today, but few of that gallant old 
regiment would answer. Why ? Because they have made their 
last march, fought their last battle, heard the last tattoo on 
earth and are now answering the roll-call beyond the skies. 

Forty-four years and more battling with the problems of civil 
life have left their impress on our physical bodies. Our steps 
are not as elastic, our eyes are not as bright and sparkling, we 
are not quite as handsome as we were forty- four years ago ; but 
in our hearts and Imaginations we are boys again. We shall 
never grow old. 

Isn't It sad to think that the grand old army of the Union 
shall soon pass from this earth? 

Eleven Iowa regiments fought on this battlefield. The legis- 
lature of Iowa appropriated $50,000 to erect monuments 
on this field to commemorate the memory of her sons who 
fought here. The governor of Iowa appointed eleven com- 
missioners, one from each regiment, to procure designs, deter- 
mine the kind and character of the monuments, and to locate 
the same. 

I had the honor to be selected the commissioner to represent 
the Thirteenth Iowa. Comrades of the Thirteenth Iowa, I 
have performed that trust to the best of my ability. I have 
taken great pains to keep all my comrades In touch with what 
we were doing. Not one penny of the state's money has been 
misappropriated. The commissioners have worked hard to 
carry out the trust reposed in them, without any consideration 
to themselves except the great honor conferred In their ap- 
pointment. It Is not for us to say how well we have performed 
our work. We can only point you to the monuments which we 
have erected, and It Is for you and the people of Iowa to say 
whether or not we have faithfully performed our trust. If our 
work In the selection of the monuments and of the location of 
the same are satisfactory to you and the people of Iowa, I shall 
feel well paid for the time and labor I have expended In carry- 
ing out my part of the work. 



i 



SHILOH 219 

Comrades, much as you may shrink from it, our fighting 
days are over. If other wars shall come to our beloved country, 
from foes without or foes within, others must fight those battles 
but it will be a pleasure and comfort to us in our declining years 
to remember this most enjoyable trip to the southland, in 
company with our beloved governor and to know that when we 
are gone, and the generations that shall follow us are gone, 
this beautiful monument will stand as a silent witness that the 
people of Iowa fully appreciate the sacrifices, sufferings and 
devotion of her sons who fought for the Union on this battle- 
field — the hardest fought battle of the west, and one of the 
hardest fought battles of the civil war. 



Benediction Rev. Dr. A. L. Prisbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"We thank thee, O God, for the conspicuous success that has 
marked the endeavors of the commission which has erected these 
monuments. We pray thee that thy blessing may be so upon 
us that we shall move forward in these days of peace, to fight 
the battles which must yet be fought, that the work begun by 
these brave soldier boys may be carried on, and that the blessing 
of the Lord Jesus Christ may be upon us. In His name we 
ask it. Amen." 



Exercises at Second Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



10:30 A. M. 
Music (ou^Irtette) • • Piftj-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

" Blest Be the Tie That Binds " 

Address General James B. Weaver 

of Colfax, Iowa 

Governor Cummins, Members of the Commission, Ladies and 

Gentlemen : 

This was a very hot place on the day of the battle. Iowa did 
not have a bad regiment in the field, nor a regiment that failed 
to reflect credit upon the commonwealth and the flag, and she 
had no regiment in the field that excelled the Second Iowa In- 
fantry. The men in that regiment were as gallant as ever 
shouldered a musket or faced an enemy in battle. I will tell 
you some things that took place right here. 

Standing here to my left is Captain McNeal, of the Second 
Iowa Infantry. This was the right of our regiment, — the left 
extended along the "Sunken Road." Captain McNeal at that 
time was an orderly sergeant, and he had upon his cartridge 
box this piece of brass (shows piece of brass). It was convex 
when he took his position down there on the left of the regi- 
ment, but it is concave now, as you see. It was made concave 
by a solid shot, and I saw it strike him. This piece of brass 
upon his cartridge box saved his life. I saw the same cannon 
ball strike another man and mortally wound him. 

The battle here was so hot that the very birds were con- 
fused, and the quail absolutely played around my feet. They 
did not know what to do. They forgot their cunning and 
knew not how to fly. The little swifts with which you com- 
rades are familiar, were confused, and could not run nor get 

(220) 



SHILOH 221 

out of our way. It was a most terrific battle, here at the "Hor- 
net's Nest." 

I feel that I have been highly honored in being permitted to 
accompany this party of citizens from Iowa to dedicate these 
monuments, and I am especially thankful to Almighty God that 
my strength has been so spared that I can return here, after 
forty-four years, and participate in the dedication of these me- 
morials. Unless some vandal displaces them, they will stand 
here until the end of time. 

Our commission is entitled to the gratitude of every soldier 
and of the whole people of the state for having selected such 
enduring material for commemorating the valor and courage of 
those who fought here. May God In His mercy bless us and 
bless posterity and keep alive the love of God, the love of 
country, and the love of the flag — the trinity of affection which 
will make for the greatness of this nation for all time. I 
thank you. 



Benediction Rev. Dr. A. L. Prisbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"Grant, O God, thy continued favor as we go on with our 
pilgrimage of peace. In these days of prosperity, we pray 
that we may learn wisdom from the past, and remember the 
sublime victories that are to be won in peace through citizen- 
ship and character; that so we may be helped continually to 
approach the higher levels of life by which alone our nation 
shall attain its proper greatness. Guide us on our way, and 
accept our thanks for all thy mercies to us through dark days 
to the days of brightness and of peace. In the name of Christ, 
our Lord. Amen." 



Exercises at Seventh Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



10:50 A. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Reg-imental Band 

"star Spangled Banner" 

Address Major Samuel Mahon 

Seventh Iowa Infantry 

Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

When Moses of old ascended the holy mount, the voice of 
Jehovah commanded, "Take thy shoes from off thy feet, for 
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." To us today 
on this holy ground is allotted, by the people of Iowa, the sacred 
duty of dedicating this granite to the men, living and dead, who 
stood in the breach on the fateful sixth and seventh of April, 
forty-four years ago. 

We are standing in the historic "Hornet's Nest," which for 
seven hours was held by an insignificant force against the re- 
peated attacks of the flower of the south. How vividly the sur- 
vivors of that stubborn resistance recall in their minds, the 
scenes of that eventful Sunday; — an April sun shining brightly 
on the camps of Wallace's division back near the Landing, the 
soldiers, without thought or expectation of battle, engaged in 
exchanging messages with the loved ones at home in far-off 
Iowa. Suddenly on the morning air were borne the ominous 
sounds of the opening battle far to the front; — the hurried 
orders and formation, the rapid march to the front past dis- 
ordered and retreating fragments composed of all arms of the 
service, until this position was reached. It was a contest of en- 
durance, perhaps the hardest test to which a soldier can be sub- 
jected, but the men who had received their first baptism on the 
bloody field of Belmont, and later who had formed in the 

(222; 



SHILOH 223 

storming column that ascended the steep slo{>es of Fort Donel- 
son's crest, on that wintry day in February, crowning defeat 
with victory, presented an undaunted front and settled to the 
grim task allotted to them; for seven hours they tenaciously 
held their ground against repeated attacks of the gallant foe, in 
the intervals subjected to the relentless fire of shell and shrapnel 
from batteries which they could neither attack nor silence, all 
the while realizing by the ominous sounds of the firing, that 
both flanks of the position were being enclosed and that they 
were fighting a losing battle. "Hold the position at all haz- 
ards," were the parting words of General Grant to our division 
commander, the gallant William H. L. Wallace, who sealed 
with his life, his obedience to the orders of his chief. 

Through the long hours of the afternoon could be seen, 
across the historic Duncan field, the ceaseless movement of the 
gray infantry columns hurrying toward the apex of the acute 
angle which still projected toward the hostile lines. This was 
the only fixed point in the shifting kaleidoscope of disaster which 
befell the force of McClernand and Sherman on the right and 
Prentiss and Hurlbut on the left. 

Let, however, one of our gallant foes bear testimony as well, 
to the valor of these men whose monument we now dedicate. 
William Preston Johnston, in the life of General Albert Sidney 
Johnston, relates: 

"This portion of the Federal line was occupied by Wallace's 
division and by the remnants of Prentiss' division. Here be- 
hind a dense thicket on the crest of the hill was posted a strong 
force of as hardy troops as ever fought; to assail it an open field 
had to be passed ; it was nicknamed by the Confederates, by that 
very mild metaphor, "The Hornets' Nest." No figure of 
speech would be too strong to express the deadly peril of the 
assault upon this natural fortress, whose inaccessible barriers 
blazed for six hours with sheets of flame, and whose infernal 
gates poured forth a murderous storm of shot and shell and 
musketry fire, which no living thing could quell or even with- 
stand. Brigade after brigade was led against it, but valor was 
of no avail. Hindman's brilliant brigades which had swept 
everything before them from the field, were shivered into frag- 



224 SHILOH 

ments and paralyzed for the remainder of the day. Stewart's 
regiments made fruitless assaults, but only to retreat mangled 
from the field. Bragg now ordered up Gibson's splendid 
brigade; it made a charge, but like the others, recoiled and fell 
back. Bragg sent orders to charge again ; four times the posi- 
tion was charged, four times the assault proved unavailing; 
the brigade was repulsed. About half past three the struggle 
which had been going on for five hours with fitful violence was 
renewed with the utmost fury; Polk's and Bragg's corps Inter- 
mingled, were engaged in the death grapple with the sturdy 
commands of Wallace and Prentiss. 

"General Ruggles judiciously collected all the artillery he 
could find, some eleven batteries, which he massed against the 
position; the opening of so heavy a fire and the simultaneous 
advance of the whole Confederate line resulted first In con- 
fusion and then in the defeat of Wallace and the surrender of 
Prentiss at about half past five. Breckinridge, Ruggles, With- 
ers, Cheatham and other divisions which helped to subdue these 
stubborn fighters, each imagined his own the hardest part of 
the work." 

But the end had come. Enclosed by converging lines the 
order came to fall back. Facing about in line, steady as if on 
parade, the survivors retreated from the position they had held 
so long to find themselves confronted again by the foe; sur- 
rounded, almost bewildered, they forced their way through the 
enfolding lines, subjected to the fierce fire which they were un- 
able to return, except here and there a man loading as he ran, 
turned to fire a Parthian shot. Retreating beyond the zone of 
fire and the impact of the onset, these men from Belmont and 
Donelson rallied to the colors and behind Hurlbut's desolated 
camp faced about in battle line once more. A brief halt in this 
position waiting for comrades who never came was followed 
by an orderly march to the last line of defense covering their 
own camps. 

Three of the five Iowa regiments tarried too long on the 
order of retreat and were captured entire by the victorious foe. 
Two only, the Second and the Seventh, maintained their organ- 
izations and participated in the second day's conflict. 



SHILOH 225 

More sacred than our poor words, more enduring than this 
granite, will the memory of those who fell here live in the 
hearts of posterity, and the bitterness of strife will fade in the 
remembrance of the bravery and sacrifice of both the blue and 
gray alike. 

"No more shall the war cry sever, 
Nor the winding river run red. 
They banish our anger forever, 

As they laurel the graves of our dead. 

"Under the sod and the dew, 
Waiting the Judgment Day, 
Love and tears for the Blue, 
Tears and love for the Gray." 

The south will vie with the north in the upbuilding of our 
common country, in the upholding of the flag, and placing her 
in the forefront of twentieth century civilization, the arbiters 
of the peace of the world and a refuge for the oppressed. 

Here on the banks of the mighty Tennessee, whose name 
their army bore, and on whose bosom they were borne to this 
fateful field, we leave the dead to their long sleep until the 
Resurrection Morn, with the murmur of its waters for their 
requiem. 



Benediction Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

of Allerton, Iowa 

"And now may the grace of our Heavenly Father be with 
us. May we learn the great lessons of life, and at last receive 
the crown of everlasting life which the Lord has prepared for 
them that love Him. Hear us, keep us and save us, in the 
great Redeemer's name. Amen." 



Mon.— 15 



Exercises at Twelfth Iowa Regimental Monument. 
November 22, J 906 



11:10 A. M, 
Address Major D. W. Reed 

Twelfth Iowa Regiment 
Secretary of the Shiloh National Military Park Commission 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

General Tuttle, marching toward the sound of battle, led his 
regiment along the road here to our right, and as he came to 
this spot where I stand he saw in the fringe of woods beyond 
him a rebel battery going into position. He immediately 
turned, ahead of his brigade, down that ravine, and formed his 
brigade in this ravine which we see just at our rear. The 
"Sunken Road" ran immediately behind this monument. In 
this position, the Twelfth Iowa, with the rest of the brigade, 
held the Confederates at bay all day long. The fight which 
has just been described at the Seventh regimental monument 
applies to this regiment also. Just to our left is a tablet, where 
Colonel Dean, of the Second Arkansas, was killed, within a 
few steps of the Fourteenth Iowa. 

It is unnecessary to talk of what the Twelfth did. Their 
record has been told among the other regiments. They held 
a position here that was practically impregnable. A gallant 
Iowa officer coming here lately, in looking over it said, "I 
have always thought that the record of the Hornets' Nest 
Brigade was a myth, but I see now, in looking over this posi- 
tion, that an overruling Providence directed General Tuttle, 
at the head of the right men, to the right place, at the right 
time, to save Shiloh on this bloody battlefield." The fringe of 
woods up yonder represents the position held by Ruggles' bat- 
teries. His sixty-two guns, playing upon this position from 

(226) 



SHILOH 227 

three o'clock to five o'clock, failed to move the Union forces 
from their position. 

I thank you, gentlemen. 



Benediction Rev. Dr. A. L. Frivsbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"We give thanks to thee, thou who art over all, for all 
these instances of thy care and direction, and that thou didst 
devise all means by which we have been protected. Now lead 
us still, as thou hast led us; lead us on, that we may ever attain 
the better things — the better life — the diviner prosperity and 
that true freedom in which we shall share and share justly, 
and dwell happily together in the name of Christ, our Lord. 
May thy peace abound toward us forever more, in His name. 
Amen." 



Exercises at Fourteenth Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



11:25 A, M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Iowa" 

Introduction of speaker by Captain Charles W. Kep- 
ler. Mr. Kepler said: 

"If it were permissible for any eulogy to be pronounced upon 
any one particular regiment or its commander, I would say, as 
I did not belong to that regiment, that Colonel Shaw, who com- 
manded the Fourteenth Iowa, would be entitled to it. Captain 
Matson, a warm personal and intimate friend of Colonel Shaw, 
will read a communication from Colonel Shaw which he is 
unable to deliver in person." 



Address Colonel W. T. Shaw 

Fourteenth Iowa Regiment 

Captain Daniel Matson, after explaining the inability 
of Colonel W. T. Shaw to be present at the exercises, 
read Colonel Shaw's address: 

Men and Survivors of the Fourteenth Iowa: 

Under the weight of eighty-four years, together with the 
partial loss of sight, and a broken limb, which renders it im- 
possible for me to get about without assistance, I am unable to 
be present on the occasion of the dedication of the Iowa monu- 
ments on the battlefield of Shiloh. 

It would give me great pleasure to meet you and once more 
greet my companions in arms, on the spot made sacred by the 
blood of the members of our regiment who fell on April 6, 

(228) 



SHILOH 229 

1862. But I am subject to the orders of the Great Commander, 
who forbids my being with you. I can only send you a few 
words of greeting. I shall be with you in spirit, and I know 
that you will enjoy your meeting together. 

If the service rendered to our country by Tuttle's brigade and 
the Eighth Iowa, at this point, constituted the sum of their 
work, which it did not, it were sufficient to cover them with 
imperishable renown. The fact that this command held the 
center of the Federal lines for an hour and a half after both 
wings of the Union army had been driven back, enabled Gen- 
eral Grant to form a new line of defense and hold the enemy at 
bay until night closed the first day of the eventful contest. 

This fact is clearly established by official data, which shows 
that the Fourteenth Iowa surrendered to the brigade under 
Chalmers, which constituted the right of the Confederate lines 
and of Bragg's corps, while the Twelfth Iowa surrendered 
to Pond's brigade, which constituted the extreme left of the 
Confederate forces; thus showing that the entire rebel army had 
surrounded and enveloped our little command. 

Having served with General Bragg in Mexico, I was per- 
sonally acquainted with him. At the time of our surrender he 
recognized me, and asked me how many men we had. Not 
knowing the full extent of the Union forces enclosed by the 
rebel lines, I replied, "About five hundred." Bragg expressed 
his disgust in language more forcible than elegant, and said: 
"We have lost an hour and a half in this affair," when he im- 
mediately gave orders for the Confederate troops to deploy 
towards the river and press the Federal forces. 

This proves clearly that the entire Union army had been 
swept back from the field to the new line around the Landing, 
leaving our command as the necessary sacrifice for our salva- 
tion. There can be no doubt but that the obstinate courage of 
the troops composing "The Hornets' Nest Brigade," in holding 
their position without wavering for hours after their supports on 
the right and left had given away, stayed the rebel advance, 
and made victory possible the next day for us. 

Colonel Tuttle, having withdrawn the two right regiments 
of the brigade, the Second and Seventh, sent orders to Colonel 



230 SHILOH 

Wood, of the Twelfth, to about-face his command and fight 
the enemy approaching from the rear. Seeing the Twelfth 
executing this movement, I called on Colonel Wood and asked 
him what he meant. He repeated the order he had receiv^ed 
from the brigade commander and added, "I expect further 
orders." I received no orders from anyone. I left Colonel 
Wood and returned to my regiment and for a time we held the 
line; realizing that we were isolated and alone, I attempted to 
withdraw my regiment and retire, following the rest of the 
brigade, but being pressed by the enemy was compelled to 
about-face to check his advance. Again we attempted to retire 
and again were so closely pressed that I was compelled to about- 
face the command and for the third time we were hotly en- 
gaged, once more checking the foe. From this point, we retired 
to the camp of the Thirty-second Illinois, where being sur- 
rounded I surrendered to the Ninth Mississippi Infantry, Ma- 
jor Whitfield commanding. The following letter will be of 
Interest, showing his estimate of and admiration for the brave 
men who composed the "Hornets' Nest Brigade" : 

Corinth, Miss., April lo, 1884. 
Colonel W. T. Shaw, 

Anamosa, Iowa. 
My Dear Sir: 

I cannot exaggerate the expression of my regret when I 
learned that you had visited the Shiloh battlefield on the sixth 
and seventh instant, and I had missed the opportunity of meet- 
ing you again and knowing as a friend the man and officer who 
won my admiration as an enemy. 

Our encounter at Shiloh Is one of the most striking episodes 
of my war experience. It was a curious vicissitude of war that 
repaid with captivity the courage and gallantry that held its 
position last upon the field when you held your regiment and 
part of another fighting gallantly In open field with perfect line 
and well dressed ranks, long after both the regiments on your 
flanks had fled and yielded only when assailed both In front and 
rear. The fortunes of war owed you something better. But 
after all one can never safely count on any reward save that 



SHILOH 231 

which comes from the satisfaction of knowing that we have per- 
formed our duty well. I was very much In hope that you would 
extend your visit to Corinth and accept from me for a few days 
that hospitality you once declined as a prisoner, because it 
could not be shared by your "boys." I even heard that you 
were coming over and I placed a man to Intercept you and 
bring you direct to my house, where my wife had prepared a 
chamber for you and swung the camp kettle with some very 
excellent Glen Levat and lemon, in waiting, on the mantel. 
But you did not come and I seek refuge from my disappoint- 
ment in writing this letter to you, which I trust will find you 
reciprocating my desire for a more Intimate acquaintance. 

Very truly yours, 

F. E. Whitfield. 

When we arrived In Corinth as prisoners, Major Whitfield's 
father, who resided there, hunted me up and asked me to take 
a seat in his buggy and go with him to his house. He stated 
that his son had been wounded and brought home. He said 
further, if agreeable to me, he had influence at army head- 
quarters to pass me through the lines to our army. I was forced 
to decline both his hospitality and good offices in securing my 
liberty, believing that my services were necessary to my men 
during their captivity; and believing that It was my duty to 
remain with them to share their privations and Imprisonment. 
This I have never regretted. 

When I surrendered my command, no private or officer had 
offered to yield until I decided that further resistance was use- 
less. During the three years that I commanded the Fourteenth 
Iowa I never gave an order or command that was not promptly 
obeyed. There is not a single act of the regiment that I cannot 
look back to with pride whether It be on the many well fought 
battlefields on which they were engaged. In camp or on the 
march. It was a soldierly and brave organization, and to no 
incident in its career do I now look back, over the long stretch 
of years that have Intervened, with more pride and satisfaction 
than that after their retreat and struggle for near half a mile, 
fronting to the rear and repelling the enemy, over broken and 



232 SHILOH 

heavily timbered ground, surrounded and pressed on all sides 
by an overwhelming and victorious enemy, I was able, when 
necessity compelled it, to surrender with closed ranks and lines 
well dressed. The Fourteenth Iowa at the time of its capture 
was reduced to about two hundred men. 

In closing, let me join you in expressions of appreciation for 
the liberality shown by our state in commemorating upon im- 
perishable granite and bronze the record of your services upon 
this battlefield. For many years, until the infirmities of age 
compelled me to give place to younger men, it was my pleasure 
to labor to secure the creation of "The Shiloh National Mili- 
tary Park," together with this recognition by our state. Now 
that it is accomplished, it gratifies me beyond expression. 

I am the only surviving colonel of the eleven who com- 
manded the Iowa troops at Shiloh. For this kind interposition 
of Divine Providence, I trust I have due regard; and today, 
in the quiet of my home, far from Shiloh's field, I speak to you 
men of the Fourteenth. It is fit and proper that you and I, in 
this manner, remember our fallen comrades. It is fit and proper 
that our great commonwealth erect these monuments to com- 
memorate the valor of the Iowa regiments which upheld the 
flag of their country and the reputation of their state, upon this 
battlefield. 

As a final word I can only say I know that you will remain 
steadfast in support of the cause for which you fought on this 
field; that in your everyday life you will be faithful to every 
trust reposed in you, and that you will teach the lessons of pa- 
triotism to those who follow you. 

I will not say farewell, for I hope to meet you again in my 
home, where a warm welcome awaits you. 



Benediction Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

of Allerton, Iowa 

"May the God of all wisdom and consolation abide with the 
dear Colonel who sends these words of cheer, and may it be 
with us all as we go from this place. May every one of us 
resolve that while life shall last we shall do everything in our 



p re 

55 P-l 

s- r 

03 2 
o O 

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SHILOH 233 

power to consecrate and keep new the great bright fruits of 
God, that shall keep us free and lead us on in the great pros- 
perity that has attended us since the days of this historic 
struggle; and may the Lord in His mercy have compassion on 
us in our weakness. Keep and direct us forever in Jesus' name, 
and bear us at last to a home in Heaven, a home that shall be 
ours throughout eternity. Amen." 



Exercises at Eighth Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



11:35 A. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Battle Hymn of the Republic" 

Introduction of speaker . . Colonel William B, Bell 

Governor Cummins, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

I have a few words to say on behalf of the Eighth Iowa 
regiment on this memorial occasion. Colonel James L. Geddes 
commanded this regiment during the first day's fight at Shiloh. 
In the evening he was taken prisoner. He is now gone to his 
reward. 

I had expected to have Professor A. N. Currier of the Iowa 
State University, who was a private soldier in this regiment, 
make some remarks on this occasion. It was impossible for 
him to be here and I have selected another private soldier of 
the Eighth Iowa regiment who is present here today to make 
the address. Before introducing him, however, I am gratified 
to be able to announce to the audience that two sons of General 
Prentiss are with us and we will introduce them at the conclu- 
sion of the address. 



Address Private Asa Turner 

Eighth Iowa Regiment 

Governor Cummins, Members of the Commission, Comrades 

and Fellow Citizens: 

I have sometimes wondered what made Iowa's troops in- 
vincible. I have thought much over the matter, and I believe 
I can tell you why. Drummond says, "The greatest thing in 

(234) 



SHILOH 235 

the world is love." The Divinity who walked the Galilean 
shore said, "Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay 
down his life for his friends." 

When the call to duty came to the Iowa boys, they hurried 
from the schools, from the farms and from the shops. They 
received the benediction of those who waited behind — whose 
mission it was to love, to watch, to wait and to weep. A fare- 
well kiss upon the cheek from wife and mother and sister and 
sweetheart. Do you wonder that having stood, they were able 
to stand, with the eyes of the motherhood and the wifehood 
and the sisterhood and all the sweethearts of the north upon 
them, backed by the greater love of Divinity ? 

For the first time under fire right there (pointing) — a boy 
of eighteen — what a flood of memories come trooping up 
when I think of those days and of the boys who came with 
us. Was it hope of reward or fame or wealth that brought 
them? No! It was this greater love, that coming at the 
crucial period in the nation's history, made them willing to 
stand, and they did stand, upon this very spot, laved in the blood 
of the forty who died here, of the eighteen who died of mortal 
wounds, of the one hundred and thirteen wounded; and we will 
say that all the rest were taken south. So today we com- 
memorate their deeds. Would that I had the power to send 
a wireless message up through the ether blue to the comrades 
who have gone before. I would say, comrades, though you 
are absent, you are not forgotten. We have kept your memory 
green. We have told of your deeds of valor to the child and 
the grandchild at our knees. At our firesides, at campfires, 
at gatherings, on decoration days, we have remembered you. 

Now we know that the eventide of life is coming. It is not 
for long ere the reveille will sound for us the last time, for we 
are gathering home, one by one; and then, comrades, we will 
join glad hands with you, feeling that the men behind the guns 
acted well their part. 

Governor Cummins, to you, who so ably championed the 
cause of the two sister regiments whose cause was dear to us, 
we commit this monument. I thank you. 



236 SHILOH 

Colonel Bell said: 

"I have the pleasure of presenting to this gathering two sons 
of General Prentiss who fought so nobly upon this field — Jacob 
H. Prentiss and E. W. Prentiss." 



Mr. E). W, Prentiss said: 

Governqr Cummins, Survivors of the Battle of Shiloh, Ladies 

and Gentlemen: 

While we did not come here to talk we take this opportunity 
to express our appreciation of this great privilege, of attending 
these beautiful ceremonies. It is too bad that so few of 
the brave men of Shiloh survive to see and hear these splendid 
tributes to their sacred memory and to their bravery. 

While the two Iowa regiments assigned to father's division 
— the Fifteenth and Sixteenth — were not with him here in 
this Hornet's Nest; these other Iowa regiments of which 
you have heard were very close to him and to his command 
and the Eighth, Twelfth and Fourteenth were taken prisoners 
with him. And as they were very close to him in the line of 
battle, so were they ever close to his heart and lovingly treas- 
ured in his memory. They were with him in prison and he 
loved them and never forgot them. 

We thank you for the warm greeting that you have extended 
to us for the sake of his memory, and accept it in the same 
spirit. 



Benediction Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

of Des Moines, Iowa 

"We offer thee praise. Almighty One, because of the free 
and generous gifts — an offering of love, the love of true 
hearts, the love of homes and fathers and mothers, and of all 
who loved the young men who came forth that they might 
champion the great cause for which they suffered and died, 



SHILOH 237 

that they might redeem their land from peril, that they might 
save the nation. We thank thee for their success, for the 
nobility of their sacrifice, and the love which animated them. 
And now, our Father, guide us still, and help us to be worthy 
of all the sacrifice that they made for us, in the name of Christ. 
Amen." 



Exercises at Third Iowa Regimental Monument, 
November 22, 1906 



11:50 A. M. 
Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Oawaid, Cl.ribtian Soldiers" "Rock of Ages" 

Introduction of speaker . . . Colonel G. W. Crosley 

Mr. Chairman, Governor Cummins, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Representing the Third Iowa Infantry upon the Iowa com- 
mission for the erection of monuments upon this historic battle- 
field, it becomes my sacred duty to my comrades of the old regi- 
ment — both the dead and the living — to give personal testimony 
as to the courage and devotion they displayed upon this field 
on the sixth and seventh of April, 1862. This monument is 
erected upon the line of battle where the Third Iowa fought the 
longest and suffered its greatest loss. Extending to the left 
you see the monuments of the Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second 
and Forty-first Illinois regiments which — with the Third Iowa 
— constituted the First Brigade of the Fourth Division of the 
Army of the Tennessee. For long hours the fighting on this line 
was hard, determined, and persistent. The brigade was at 
last compelled to fall back by the enemy forcing the troops 
immediately on our left to retire, thus rendering this position 
untenable. The inscription upon the bronze tablet attached 
to this monument tells how the regiment fought, and shows its 
loss to have been one-third of the number engaged. That in- 
scription is its best eulogy. 

It gives me great pleasure to present to you one who fought 
in the ranks of the Third Iowa here, as a private soldier, and 
who afterwards suffered as a prisoner of war at Andersonville 
— a typical Iowa soldier and citizen — who will add his tribute 
to the memory of his comrades who fought and fell upon this 
field : The Honorable Joseph A. Fitchpatrick. 

(238) 



SHILOH 239 

Address Private J. A. Fitchpatrick 

Third Iowa Regiment 

Mr. Chairman, Governor Cummins, Comrades, Ladies and 

Gentlemen: 

The Third Iowa Infantry landed here about March 20, 
1862, and went Into camp about one-half mile north of this 
monument. It was a part of the First Brigade, Fourth (Hurl- 
but's) Division, and went into action Sunday morning, April 
6, 1862, on the south side of this field, but in order to get 
in allignment with other troops, soon fell back to this line, 
leaving the open field in our front. We maintained this posi- 
tion for about five hours, repelling frequent assaults resulting 
in terrific slaughter of the enemy and considerable loss to our- 
selves. 

According to the oflicial reports of the eight regiments of 
Confederates suffering the greatest loss in the battle of Shiloh, 
the losses of seven of them occurred in this immediate front, 
and the loss in killed and wounded in our brigade here posted 
was the greatest of any brigade on the Federal side in the entire 
army engaged on the field of Shiloh. 

About two o'clock In the afternoon, by reason of the turn- 
ing of the left flank of our division, we fell back two hundred 
yards and there maintained our position for one hour more, 
and then for like reason we retired to Wicker field, two hundred 
yards farther and remained until four o'clock when both flanks 
having given away, the regiment retired, fighting all the way 
to its camp, and there finding Itself nearly surrounded broke 
through the ranks of the enemy and all, except thirty, who were 
there captured, succeeded in joining the command of Colonel 
Crocker about one-half mile from the Landing and there re- 
mained in line during the night. 

On Monday the survivors were In action under Lieutenant 
Crosley, he being the senior ofl^icer present for duty, and 
charged and captured a battery near Jones' field. No losses 
occurred on the second day. 

On Sunday the loss was 23 killed In action, 17 mortally 
wounded, who shortly afterwards died; 117 others wounded, 



240 SHILOH 

most of them seriously, and 30, including Major Stone, cap- 
tured. Total number engaged in line was about 500 on the 
first day and 250 on the second day. 

The total loss of the regiment during the war was 127 killed 
and died of wounds; 122 died of disease, 321 wounded and 
227 discharged for disabilities contracted in the service, making 
a total of 798 casualties of a total enrollment of 1,099. 

On the whole we claim for the Third Iowa a record made 
upon the field of Shiloh as honorable and effective as that of 
any other organization here engaged. 



Address Albert B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen of the Shiloh Commission: 

There has been gradually growing in my throat since we 
began this journey a lump that effectually precludes speech. 
Possibly, however, I can find words to thank the members of 
the commission for the beauty of their regimental monuments. 
It seems easy to design a memorial to commemorate the soldiers 
of the whole state, and Into which a great part of an appropria- 
tion may go, but I desire to thank the members of this com- 
mission for having presented regimental monuments which I 
believe have no superiors upon any of the battlefields that we 
have visited. 

We seem to be getting a little closer to the army — a little 
closer to our "boys" as we hold these memorial exercises upon 
the very spots where the regiments fought and lost their men. 
I believe a little more sacred emotion Is expressed here than 
can possibly be expressed over there where tomorrow we will 
dedicate all these monuments to the honor of the Iowa boys. 

Some one said this morning that the men from Iowa were 
Inexperienced; just from their homes. It is so, but remember 
that bravery Is not a matter of experience; bravery Is not 
taught to men. Courage Is born In men, or It Is never at- 
tained. And so It is not wonderful that these boys from Iowa 
were courageous upon this field, even though they had never 
before heard the sound of battle and knew nothing of the 



SHILOH 241 

horrors — the awful horrors — of war. They were brave be- 
cause they were born of brave, righteous mothers. They 
were brave because they had breathed the spirit of fidehty to 
duty, and they came to suffer and to die for their country, and 
they did suffer for it and die for it as bravely, as courageous- 
ly, at the beginning of the war as they did at the end of the 
war. I am sure that we feel now the very climax of the 
pride that has so often run like a thrill through our veins in 
the last ten days. I am sure that we feel it renewed as we pass 
from point to point upon this great battlefield, and find that 
here, as we have found before, whenever and wherever the fight 
was hottest, there we find monuments to the Iowa soldiers. 
We of our state, I am sure, grow in gratitude as we observe 
that the boys of 1861 knew that the post of honor was the 
post of danger. 

And so we love these lasting monuments, and dedicate these, 
with all the others, to the dear memory of the men who died 
here, — not only to the men who died here, but the men who 
suffered here, because these monuments are not reared alone for 
those who have paid the last debt of patriotism, but they are 
reared to the honor of every Iowa soldier who, upon this battle- 
field, offered his life, whether the relentless god of war took 
it or not. And so we part upon this morning's journey, an- 
other step in the sad, beautiful mission upon which we are 
engaged; and I know that there is not a heart here that has 
not been inspired to higher, better things because we have 
stood around these regimental monuments, and have rendered 
our final tribute to the memories of these men, at the altars 
upon which some laid down their lives, and before which all 
of them earned their title to eternal fame. 



Benediction Rev. S. H. Hedrix 

of Allerton, Iowa 

To me the Third Iowa is dear. When they fell back to the 
Second Iowa, my regiment, the Twenty-third Missouri, touched 
shoulders with them; and listening to the eloquent words of 
Governor Cummins and others around here it seems to me that 
God's inspired servant uttered a great truth. We are all 

Mon.-ie 



242 SHILOH 

poor mortals and walk only as we are directed. Oh, how we 
need God's help: 

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the 
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the 
seat of the scornful. 

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law 
doth he meditate day and night. 

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, 
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not 
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 

"The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the 
wind driveth away. 

"Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, 
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 

"For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the 
way of the ungodly shall perish." 

"And now, may God recognize and approve the great good 
work of our state, of our governor, and of our great nation 
and guide us under the shadow of the wings of his great love, 
to an eternal home, in Jesus' name. Amen." 



Taps . . Bugler, Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 




IOWA MONUMENT AT SHILOH 



Exercises at the Dedication of the Iowa State 

Monument on the Battlefield of Shiloh, 

November 23, 1906 



1:30 P. M. 
Call to Order Colonel G. W. Crosley 

Vice Chairman of the Commission 

Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"America" 

Invocation Rev. Dr. A. L. Prisbie 

"Unto thee, O Lord, belong power and dominion and 
majesty. Unto thee would we render that which is thine, 
with humble and grateful and trusting hearts. Teach us, first 
of all, to acknowledge our obligation to thee; to remember 
that thou art indeed, over all, and that thou art also blessed 
forever. We know not all thy ways. We understand not 
all the mysteries of thy being, but thou dost permit us to 
know very much of thy Fatherhood, of thy gracious dis- 
position, thy fatherly spirit, thy love for us. And because 
thou hast had these thoughts toward us, thou hast mercifully led 
us throughout many years of trial — years of bright and years 
of sad experience ; and thou hast taught us that our dependence 
is upon thee. Therefore, we humbly pray that thou wilt 
stay near by during all the history we are to make; during all 
the development for which we hope. We pray that thou wilt 
be our Leader, bringing us through a prosperous voyage to a 
blessed port. 

"We have been making a pilgrimage of blessing, of mem- 
ory, of gratitude, and of peace, and as we come to the con- 
clusion of our special duty, and see now the completion of 
that which we began, we pray that we may go hence with 
hearts prepared to appreciate the multitude of favors we have 
received. We have had occasion to commune with the dead. 

(243) 



244 SHILOH 

We have stood where they were burled, who died loyally and 
faithfully, giving themselves wholly that they might secure 
the permanence of this nation. We thank thee that this 
Union of states was so precious to them that they held nothing 
back, but gave themselves utterly to maintain its permanence. 
We thank thee, O Lord, that through all the suffering and 
martyrdom and battle shock and pain, these men held steadfast 
to that which they had begun. And Lord, for these brave of 
the brave, the twice five thousand men that stood here meeting 
the battle's shock, and the many times five thousand men who 
on other fields withstood the shock of battle — for these we 
give thee our thanks, for we recognize in them the preservers 
of the Union. We pray that the people may all cherish their 
memories with gratitude; that we may all remember that we 
have not come upon these blessings by any manner of accident 
or of experiment. May we remember that they have been won 
by those who devoted themselves with their best intelligence 
and highest consecration to secure them; by those who gave 
themselves with unfaltering devotion that they might maintain 
them. May we go hence with renewed determination that this 
government of the people, by the people, and for the people 
shall not perish from the earth. May we see, and may others 
see, more and more, that these mercies have been ours 
because of infinite sacrifice. Lord, we pray that thy blessing 
may be upon our whole land — not divided, not dismembered, 
but one land, with one flag, with not a star erased. 

"Grant thy favor to this portion of the Union, where all 
this was carried on, and where so much of suffering and loss 
was endured. And so upon north and south, upon one land, 
may thine own good light shine through all the days. 

"Accept our thanks, we beseech thee; guide us safely to our 
homes. Bless the people of our state who sent us forth upon 
this mission, and be so with them and with us that the grace 
of the Lord Christ may be revealed, and justice and truth 
may be everywhere established. Accept our thanks, bear with 
us in our weaknesses and guide us in wisdom and love, through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." 



SHILOH 245 

Presentation of Monuments to the 

Governor of Iowa . . . Colonel William B. Bell 

Chairman of the Commission 

Governor Cummins, Fellow Citizens: 

On the morning of the thirteenth Instant, we left Chicago 
on the governor's special to the southland, on a mission of 
love. Many of us, especially those who are commissioners, 
looked forward with a great deal of anticipation to a memo- 
rable time, and one that appeals to the best sentiments of the 
human heart. We arrived at Vicksburg in due time, there 
to dedicate the monuments on that great battlefield, where Iowa 
was more numerously represented than on any other field of the 
war. Vicksburg was termed the "Gibraltar of the West," and 
situated as it is on the Father of Waters, its importance as a 
strategic point was recognized by all. We there witnessed a 
program for the dedication of our Vicksburg monument which 
was perfection. Many papers were produced there which will 
go down in history. The monuments erected by the Vicksburg 
commission are an honor to the state as well as to the com- 
mission. 

I cannot dwell on these points. We left Vicksburg for 
Andersonville. The goodly party, the members of which were 
more or less acquainted and growing more so day by day 
from association, arrived at Andersonville, and visited the 
city of the dead. We were not assembled there as an army 
with banners. We did not go there to conquer. With us 
was a cumulative force of unarmed soldiers — the heroes of 
many battlefields from all along our battle line — some of them 
captured from time to time, and congregated there. When 
we looked at the markers there for the thirteen thousand dead, 
and joined in the exercises, well might Governor Cummins, 
even, plead the poverty of language in describing the situation, 
the surroundings, and the feelings of men. The occasion was 
an appeal to our sympathies, so deep that the only fit response 
was from the welling up in our hearts and the flow of tears. 
It is diflicult for any one to talk of the experiences of men 
under those circumstances. We will hastily step out from the 



246 SHILOH 

city of the dead over into the stockade, where an aggregate 
of over thirty thousand men were imprisoned at the same time, 
with no protection from the inclemency of the weather; with 
the ground for their bed, and the starry firmament for their 
covering. Who can realize, who can picture the thoughts of 
those men, as they lay down for the night, looking up into 
the heavens, in such a condition of hopelessness? Their 
thoughts, their heroism, are not recorded anywhere for man 
to peruse. In man's extremity is God's opportunity. The 
little creek that flowed through that stockade became so polluted 
from the very nature of things that men became diseased, and 
suffered from the impurity of the water. There was no Moses 
there, with the rod of Aaron, to strike the rock that would bring 
forth the supply of water necessary for these perishing men. 
They became debilitated in mind, but, just as is recorded there, 
God's thunderbolt opened the earth, and pure water flowed 
out so that those men were supplied. Veterans sing that they 
have drunk from the same canteen. We were privileged there, 
as a party, to drink from the same spring. 

"God's mercies flow, an endless stream, 
Through all eternity the same." 

Every man and woman in this party who visited the stockade 
and witnessed the exercises that took place there, came out 
a better man and a better woman. I think they all reahze it. 

We leave Andersonville, nevermore, in all probability, to 
return. We come to Lookout Mountain. We are privileged 
to go over Lookout Mountain, where the battle was fought 
above the clouds — a historic point in this country. Battles on 
every hand, for terms of months and months. The views there 
are unequaled, perhaps, in this country. The Iowa Lookout 
Mountain Commission has erected three monuments that are 
a credit to themselves and an honor to the state. I remained 
there long enough to see two of these monuments dedicated, 
and then left, going to Corinth, and thence here to Shiloh, in 
order to prepare, as best I could, for these exercises. 



SHILOH 247 

And now, fellow citizens, we are at Shiloh; and as I turn to 
speak of the great event that calls us together on this occasion, 
the scenes and events of that memorable sixth of April, 1862, 
come pouring into my mind like a flood. It was a beautiful 
Sabbath morning. Nature had commenced to put on her sum- 
mer garb. The leaves were only developed sufficiently to 
slightly obscure the view in the woods; the troops were having 
morning inspection, many of them simply armed citizens and 
some of them loaded their muskets for the first time on the field. 
About eight o'clock, the booming of artillery and the roar of 
musketry burst upon this encampment, and we realized that 
the battle of Shiloh was on. About half past eight o'clock 
we were ordered to the front and formed a line about nine 
A. M. Five Iowa regiments formed a brigade, and while I 
wish to speak of this particular brigade, six other Iowa regi- 
ments did as hard fighting and some of them suffered greater 
loss than any of this brigade. 

They held the position assigned them until about four P. M. 
During this time, as we reported officially, this brigade repulsed 
four separate assaults and suffered heavy loss. The Con- 
federates report that after having made four unsuccessful as- 
saults, they placed sixty pieces of artillery in position. They 
decided that owing to the great natural strength of the posi- 
tion, they would not attempt the fifth assault, but flanked 
the position, and captured the remnants of three of these regi- 
ments, and named our position the "Hornet's Nest," and to 
verify the statement they have placed sixty pieces of artillery 
on the same ground as you see them today. But one fails to 
discover any great natural strength in the position, and can 
only account for the result by stating that they fought lying 
down, and made a heroic defense. One thing is certain, each 
side thereafter had a profound respect for the fighting qualities 
of the other, and realized they were all Americans. At the 
close of this contest, they were full-fledged soldiers. 

We look upon the city of the dead near by to-day, and 
we are here to commemorate their patriotism and devotion to 
their country's cause by dedicating these monuments as a me- 
morial to their fame. 



248 SHILOH 

Some seem to think that a soldier that gives his life in de- 
fense of his country thereby has a passport to Heaven. This 
is a mistake. He that secures a title to a mansion in the sky 
must accept it as a free and unmerited gift. In midsummer a 
few years ago I sat in yon city of the dead. The magnolia was 
in bloom, the mocking bird was singing in its branches, and 
flowers were blooming all round, and the beautiful Tennessee 
River quietly, like the years of our lives, passing away. I felt it 
was good to be there, and it seemed to me that any true soldier. 
Confederate or Federal, would find in his heart a desire to strew 
flowers on the graves of all. 

Turning again to the battle, the total number on both sides 
engaged was 101,716, and the total loss 23,746 — 23 3^ per 
cent. Iowa had 6,664 engaged, with a total loss of 2,409, or 
36 per cent. 

Some seven years ago, Iowa made an appropriation of 
$50,000.00 to erect monuments on this field of Shiloh, and 
the present commission was appointed. For various reasons 
this dedication has been postponed, although the monuments 
have been completed several years since, but It seems fitting 
that the state after having appropriated more than a quarter 
of a million dollars for the erection of monuments on some of 
the prominent battlefields of the war of '61 and '65, the 
dedication of all should be provided for together, and now 
that we close our sad but enjoyable and ever memorable trip 
at Shiloh, let us hope and pray that nothing in the future 
of our country will occur to make it possible for any of its 
citizens to be called upon to perform ceremonies similar to these 
that we are now engaged in. 

The flag of our country at the beginning was baptized in 
blood by sprinkling; in the war of '61 and %$ it was bap- 
tized In blood by immersion, so to speak, but thank the Lord 
it Is now clean, no blotch, stain or wrinkle. No man can com- 
mit crime and claim its protection, but it is the true emblem of 
liberty, and floats over a reunited country, "The land of the free 
and the home of the brave." 



SHILOH 249 

And now, the Iowa Shiloh Commissioners have completed 
the work assigned to them; feel that they have used economy 
and good judgment, and believe that Iowa people will be well 
pleased with their work. At the proper time a full report 
will be made by the commission. 

And I now, on behalf of the commission, turn over these 
monuments to the chief executive of the state, Governor Albert 
B. Cummins. 



Acceptance and Presentation of Monuments to the 

United States Government . Albert B. Cummins 

Governor of Iowa 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Iowa Shiloh Commission, 
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the National Shiloh Com- 
mission, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

As I rise to perform my last official act upon this most 
memorable journey, my mind and heart are swept with mem- 
ories of Vicksburg, of Andersonville, of Lookout Mountain, of 
Sherman Heights, of Rossville Gap; and now, to this flood 
of recollections, patriotic, glorious, tender, sorrowful, there is 
added the overwhelming current which always flows from this 
historic, sacred fountain of the war. It seems to me, my friends 
from Iowa, that the week we have devoted to the memory of 
our soldiers will be a week long remembered among the grate- 
ful and patriotic children of our commonwealth. Standing 
here, in the glory of this calm, beautiful, peaceful sunshine, it 
seems impossible to believe that on such a day, forty years ago 
and more, these hills, valleys and plains were crowded with 
eighty thousand men in mortal conflict. Can you transfer 
yourself, in the exercise of your most vivid imagination, to 
that day, when eighty thousand men strove here for the mas- 
tery? I have endeavored to call to my vision that fateful 
struggle. We are now in the midst of a profound, and as I 
hope, an enduring peace. We are now forty-one years from 
the day upon which the light of peace dawned upon a distract- 
ed, disunited land, and yet we are still too near the mighty 
conflict to see it in its true perspective. We think of it still 



250 SHILOH 

as involving only the shock of arms, the skill of commanders, 
the endurance of mortal man, of suffering soldiers, of dying 
patriots; but the future will look upon it from a higher, a 
holier and a truer standpoint. 

As I look upon that dear old flag, it represents to me, better 
than can any other symbol, the full meaning of the war of 
1861, not to the people of our own country alone, but to the 
people of the whole civilized world. When these boys from 
Iowa, these boys from Tennessee, the boys from all these 
states, were here, that old flag was drooping in dejection, in 
every part of the civilized world, and there were few so poor as 
to do it reverence. Forty years have gone by; forty years of 
peace, forty years of achievement, forty years in which 
the genius of the American has worked upon the opulent re- 
sources of nature, and now look at the old flag! It streams 
in triumph and beauty in every part of the world, and my 
friends, it ought to make your hearts beat a little faster, it ought 
to make the blood run a little more rapidly through your veins, 
when you remember that at this moment there is not a ruler 
under the sun so proud and so mighty but that he takes off his 
hat and bows his head as Old Glory goes floating by. This is 
the real heritage of the war of 186 1. I remember, too, that 
when these boys were struggling for the possession of these 
hills and valleys. Old Glory marked the sovereignty of the 
United States upon the golden sands of the Pacific. But when 
peace came, the American began his journey, his peaceful 
journey of triumph. Destiny took up the old flag and carried 
it across the western sea, so that now, although I am speaking 
to you in mid-afternoon, in the full tide of an autumn day, 
the morning's sun has not yet gilded the beautiful colors of the 
stars and stripes as they proclaim the sovereignty of the 
United States in the far away islands of the Philippines. 

And so it seems to me that whatever may be the memories 
of those who are about me, this mighty struggle, whether they 
fought over there (pointing), under the stars and bars, or 
whether they fought here under the stars and stripes, they are 
equally the heirs of a glory we never could have enjoyed 



SHILOH 251 

if, in the end, the Union had not been triumphantly maintained. 

I have been impressed, as we have gone on from day to day, 
by one phrase which we have constantly employed. We look 
at a monument and we say, "the boys were worthy of this 
tribute." Why do we call them boys? Why is that name 
so dear to the hearts of the succeeding generation? We call 
them boys because they were boys. Of the eighty thousand men 
the first day, and of the one hundred thousand the next day, 
upon this field, I venture to say the average age was under 
twenty-one; not more, at least, than twenty-one. Your boys, 
fighting for the honor of your country's flag and the permanence 
of your country's institutions. Ah, I do not wonder that we 
come here weeping. To their mothers, to their wives, to their 
sisters, to the maids who loved them, these men, some now 
gone beyond the river, some now sharing the gratitude of a 
succeeding generation, will always be boys. And to us they 
shall always be boys. The thought in my mind, however, is 
this, and it should fill us with transcendent hope when we re- 
flect upon it — that boys of eighteen, twenty and twenty-one 
could, by the summons of war, change in the twinkling of an 
eye into the mature heroes of conflict. The boys who climbed 
the banks of the Tennessee River, and here offered themselves 
up that their country might live, became men — stern, unyield- 
ing men — when the storm of shot and shell fell upon them. 
The days of their boyhood were gone forever, and they stood, 
as stalwart giants, full of the sense of responsibility, with 
minds attuned to the music of the Union, and with arms 
strong to execute a high and sacred purpose. 

It is not for me at this time to speak in detail of this, the 
first great battle of the war in the west. Here, for the first 
time, the flower of southern chivalry, led by that prince of men, 
Albert Sidney Johnston, met the sturdy men from the west, 
commanded by that hero, that silent hero, both of war and 
of peace — Ulysses S. Grant. And here, for the first time, I 
believe, the great armies of the south and the north knew 
the full significance of war. I see (pointing to the monument) 
Fame chiseling in the flinty granite not only the names of these 



252 SHILOH 

heroes, but I see her writing their great and noble deeds, and as 
I have said more than once, upon an occasion like this, we cannot 
honor them, for what they did is already carved imperishably 
upon the tablets of time. It is for us to patriotically hearken to 
the echo of their deeds. It is for us to so live, in these times of 
peace, that history, with her inevitable verdict, history, with 
her unerring accuracy, shall, when we have passed away, write 
of us, not the glory that she has written of them, but may 
she say of us, "the world was better because they lived in it." 

And now, Mr. President, speaking in behalf of the com- 
monwealth of which we are both citizens, I accept the tribute 
which you have presented, in gratitude and in honor of Iowa's 
soldiers at the battle of Shiloh. I need not say that the design 
you have chosen is a beautiful one. It speaks for itself more 
eloquently than I possibly could. On behalf of all our people, 
I thank you for the fidelity with which you have executed the 
commission Imposed upon you, and I say of you, as I have said 
of others, "Well done, thou good and faithful servants." 

And now, for myself, I dedicate this shaft, as it rears Itself 
into the beautiful air of this sunshiny afternoon. I dedicate 
It to the high and holy purpose for which It was established 
and erected. May it, so long as time endures, stand there as 
the evidence of a courage and a patriotism never exceeded In the 
history of mankind. 

And Colonel Cadle, of the National Commission, represent- 
ing the United States government, It is with a pleasure un- 
surpassed in all this journey that I now take what has been 
given to me by the Iowa Commission and deliver It Into your 
keeping. The pleasure is magnified a thousand-fold when I 
remember that I am transferring these beautiful memorials of 
our Iowa boys to one of Iowa's distinguished sons, a valorous, 
courageous soldier from our OAvn state. I doubt not that the 
government which you so ably represent will surround these 
monuments with a loving care and a scrupulous attention, so 
that succeeding generations may read and know the kind of 
men who fought for their country and their flag In the days of 
1861. 



SHILOH 253 

Acceptance of Monuments on Behalf of the United 

States Colonel Cornelius Cadle 

Chairman Shiloh National Military Park Commission 

Governor Cummins, Gentlemen of the Iowa Shiloh Commis- 
sion, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

When I was notified that Iowa would dedicate her monu- 
ments here today, I so advised the Secretary of War and asked 
that either he or the Assistant Secretary of War Colonel Robert 
Shaw Oliver, who was a Union soldier in our civil war, should 
receive these monuments from you, Governor Cummins. In 
reply, Mr, Taft asked me to express his regrets that his official 
duties, as well as those of the Assistant Secretary of War, 
would prevent their attendance today, and directed me as Chair- 
man of the Shiloh National Military Park Commission to re- 
ceive, from you, sir, on behalf of the United States, these mag- 
nificent monuments that the state of Iowa has placed here In 
commemoration of what her soldiers, dead and living, did on 
this field over forty-four years ago. 

When we fought here, we fought for the preservation of 
the Union. We did not realize that we were making history 
In that first great decisive battle of the war, nor that the work 
of the Union soldiers would result years afterward In making 
the United States one of the greatest of nations. 

The last line of one of the verses of "Columbia, the Gem of 
the Ocean," reads, "The world offers homage to thee." This 
should be amended to read: "The world offers homage, honor 
and respect to thee." 

For now no one of the great world nations decides upon 
an Important matter without first considering, "What will the 
United States say." We, who are living of the army, that 
fought here and at Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, the March 
to the Sea, and the campaign of the Carolinas, to the end 
of success, are glad that our work resulted In a united nation 
and resulted too In making us a world power. 

Upon this monument Is inscribed in the granite, just finished 
apparently by the figure "Fame," lines written by Major S. H. 



254 SHILOH 

M. Byers, an Iowa soldier, that would be imperishable even 
if not cut in the stone and are applicable to this occasion : 

"Brave of the brave, the twice five thousand men 
Who all that day stood in the battle's shock, 

Fame holds them dear, and with immortal pen 
Inscribes their name on the enduring rock." 

I, sir, as an Iowa soldier in the battle of Shiloh, feel a pride 
and honor to receive for the United States these monuments, 
and to assure you that they will be cared for hereafter by the 
government. 

And now, Mr. Chairman, I will describe briefly our park; 
its inception and the work that we have done to beautify and 
maintain this historic battlefield. 

The Shiloh National Military Park was established by act 
of Congress, approved December 27, 1894. The bill was 
drawn by our friend and comrade. Colonel D. B. Henderson, 
and provided that a national military park should be established 
on the battlefield of Shiloh; that the armies who fought there, 
the army of the Tennessee, commanded by General U. S. 
Grant, the Army of the Ohio, commanded by General D. C. 
Buell, and the Army of the Mississippi, commanded by Gen- 
eral A. S. Johnston, "may have the history of one of their 
memorable battles preserved on the ground where they 
fought;" that three commissioners should be appointed, one 
from each of the armies engaged, and a secretary and historian, 
all of whom should have served In the battle of Shiloh, and 
that the commissioner appointed from "Grant's Army of the 
Tennessee" should be the chairman. 

There were appointed by Mr. Daniel S. Lamont, then 
secretary of war, Colonel Cornelius Cadle, of the Army of the 
Tennessee, chairman; General Don Carlos Buell, of the Army 
of the Ohio; General Robert F. Looney, of the Army of the 
Mississippi, and Major David W. Reed, of the Twelfth Iowa 
Infantry, as secretary and historian. 

General Buell, at his death on November 19, 1898, was suc- 
ceeded by Major James H. Ashcraft of the Twenty-sixth Ken- 
tucky Volunteer Infantry. 



SHILOH 255 

Colonel Looney, at his death, November 19, 1899, was suc- 
ceeded by Colonel Josiah Patterson of the First Alabama 
Cavalry. 

Upon Colonel Patterson's death on February 12, 1904, he 
was succeeded by General Basil W. Duke of Morgan's Cav- 
alry. 

The commission as now constituted consists of myself, Major 
Ashcraft and General Duke and Major Reed. 

The act of Congress required us to restore the battlefield 
to as near as possible the condition existing at the time of the 
battle. The park includes about 3,650 acres, the absolute 
fighting ground of April 6 and 7, 1862. The roads then exist- 
ing, public and camp, have been placed in thorough condition, 
as you have seen from riding over them. 

Two hundred bronze cannon such as were used at Shiloh 
and mounted on iron gun carriages mark the position of ar- 
tillery fighting. 

The eighty-three Union organizations encamped on the field 
when the battle opened have their camps marked with a tablet 
in shape like a cross section of a wall tent. 

Every headquarters, Union and Confederate, are marked 
with a monument of shell, suitably inscribed. 

About four hundred iron historical tablets describing the 
battle lines of both sides have been erected. 

Mortuary monuments have been erected for the command- 
ers who were killed or mortally wounded in the battle, as 
follows : 

Union: Wallace, Peabody and Raith. 

Confederate: Johnston and Gladden. 

Five burial trenches where the Confederate dead were 
buried, by order of General Grant upon Tuesday following 
the battle, have been suitably, and I think properly, marked. 

The first day tablets are square; the second day, oval. The 
colors of the Army of the Tennessee are blue, the Army of the 
Ohio, yellow and the Army of the Mississippi, red. 

One hundred and ten monuments have been erected by the 
various states at a cost of about $213,000. I think that I 
can safely say that those erected by Iowa are the most artistic. 



256 SHILOH 

Music Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"Rock of Ages" 

Address General Basil W. Duke 

of the Shiloh National Military Park Commission 

Governor Cummins, Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Iowa 

Commission, and my Comrades: 

I am glad to say, from Iowa (for such we all are) com- 
rades of both contending armies who once fought each other on 
this field in enmity, but now meet as friends, and ready to 
move, if necessary, against a world in arms in defense of that 
flag, which Gofvernor Cummins has so eloquently apostro- 
phised. 

When the great battle was fought here so many years ago, 
the battle in which the men to whose memories this monument 
has been erected as a testimonial which they so justly deserve, 
at the time of this battle, it was in no man's mind, perhaps, 
that such a thing as this would be done, and least of all was it 
expected by the men who are thus honored. I, who was then 
upon the other side, who stood in hostility, if not in hatred, 
against these fallen heroes, could not have believed then that I 
would be asked, nearly half a century later, to assist in such a 
ceremony, and that I would do so earnestly and gladly, with 
no feeling to mar the pride with which I might remember 
the valor and devotion exhibited here, except, perhaps, the 
recollection that these qualities were displayed in civil war; 
that American soldiers died upon this field in fraternal strife, 
and not fighting in generous rivalry against a common foe. 
Nevertheless, in the light of a better understanding which 
the lapse of years has brought us, we can look back upon 
that time with more of pride than of sorrow, and with admira- 
tion for the courage displayed by our comrades, both of the 
north and south. 

In that terrible ordeal we learned that we were truly the 
same people, and must remain the same nation. We who 
fought for the Confederacy discovered that this Union can 
not and shall not be destroyed; you who fought for its preser- 
vation learned that its maintenance would be valueless unless the 



SHILOH 257 

just rights of all the states be respected. Civil war is a stern 
school, a dreadful school, but it teaches a discipline and imparts a 
knowledge which can be acquired, perhaps, in no other way. In 
that sharp and stern experience, we learned much, as I have said, 
that was of benefit. It accomplished much of good. All misun- 
derstanding, all sectional misconstruction and jealousy and an- 
tagonism were removed from American life and eliminated 
from the conduct of national affairs, and we realize now that, as 
a people, we have been fitted by that lesson — painful as it was — 
to confront and deal successfully with other problems per- 
haps as grave and dangerous, which may confront us or our 
children in the unknown future. 

But at any rate, we who are here today, and especially 
those of us who have survived that terrible struggle — veterans 
of both contending armies, are grateful for the deeds done by 
the men who then fought here, and who now lie sleeping yonder, 
and we are stimulated to the fulfillment of higher duties. 

And assembled upon this consecrated ground, this field made 
memorable by brave achievement in the past which shall serve 
to exalt and to influence the national spirit and character, 
we can more fully realize the value and full meaning of patri- 
otic sacrifice. The lives that were lavished here were not given 
In selfish effort for fame or preferment; not even for the glory 
and aggrandizement of the country of which those who gave 
them were citizens, but in the honest belief that such sacrifice 
was necessary to the safety and protection of the land which 
had borne them. 

We often hear comment made upon an occasion like this 
that it is a strange spectacle which is presented, when the men 
who confronted each other in civil war, forgetting the resent- 
ment which such a conflict might be expected to have created, 
gather to render mutual tribute of honor and affection to the 
dead. It is strange in one respect — strange in that it is novel. 
In all the history of the nations with which we are best ac- 
quainted, with whose annals we are most familiar, we find for 
it no precedent. Just such a thing has never occurred before. 
Not even in the record of our British ancestors, who more 
than any other people have been familiar with the exercise of 

Mon.-17 



258 SHILOH 

political toleration and amnesty, has just such a thing as this 
occurred. A war was waged in which an entire people virtually 
participated — a people of the same blood, of the same speech, 
sharing the same history, cherishing and loving the same tra- 
ditions, determined to preserve the same form of government, 
entertaining in the main the same ideas of the purpose of po- 
litical institutions; and yet these same people suddenly rushed 
to arms, and for four years stood against each other in furious 
and bloody anger. Thousands of lives were lost, the fiercest 
animosity aroused, and yet, within the span of a single genera- 
tion almost, all that passion has been allayed. Wrath has 
given place to amity, and the heroism of both those who wore 
the gray and those who wore the blue have become the common 
heritage of a reunited country. I can make no logical presenta- 
tion of this subject. I believe that the story of this war, 
its causes and conduct, will furnish the historian and to the 
thoughtful student of history a lesson and a theme far sur- 
passing anything in civil strife which the world has ever wit- 
nessed, of earnest purpose and determination. It was the 
precursor, the forerunner of the greatness which this country 
has since achieved. In the first place, it was the most stupen- 
dous civil war of which mankind has any record, and, by the 
eternal, if we Americans have to fight, we want such a war 
as no other nation has had. It should have been the biggest 
fight that men ever made. 

When we consider the means employed to conduct it, the 
strength of the armies placed in the field, the immense extent 
of territory over which it was fought, it far exceeds in magni- 
tude any struggle of like nature which the world has ever seen. 
I might say that a new people had arisen up upon the face of 
the earth. 

Now, it would be neither timely nor appropriate to discuss 
the causes which induced the war. It is enough to say that I 
do not believe that history furnishes an example of any other 
great war which was fought out simply as a matter of sentiment 
— a conflict of ideas. I do not mean to say that there were not 
grave and important issues at stake, but I do mean to say that, 
looking back upon the past, all of us can understand and be- 



SHILOH 259 

lieve that all of those issues, economic and political, could have 
been settled and adjusted really with little difficulty, certainly 
with no serious difficulty, but for the stubborn spirit and un- 
yielding pride of opinion of the people of both sections; men 
who were willing to make any sacrifice rather than yield — 
that was the difficulty in the way of avoiding this war. And 
looking back upon it I can see, and all of us can see, that it ought 
to have been avoided. We should not have been cutting each 
other's throats, yet that old Anglo-Saxon instinct drove us into 
the conflict. The battle of Shiloh was the first really great battle 
fought in the war, and it was a remarkable battle in some re- 
spects. In that battle, for the first time, these Americans, living 
on different sides of an imaginary line, found out that they were 
exactly alike. They were all Americans. We on my side 
used to boast that one Confederate could whip five Yankees, 
but we changed our minds before the war was over, and I 
think the Yankees found some of their ideas respecting us also 
inaccurate. The fact is that here, in this battle, were people 
of the same blood who had been living apart for some time 
and had lost their former acquaintance, and met again here 
for the first time. They did not shake hands, it is true. They 
met in a different manner, but were reminded of something 
that they had forgotten; that they were of the same breed and 
tem.per. Yankee and Reb found upon the other side his long 
lost brother, with the strawberry mark on his arm. 

Now, as I have said, taking up the sentimental aspect, it is 
a very remarkable thing when you come to think of it, and it is 
what gives to it more than anything else, its peculiar character- 
istic. It will be a great lesson to us. In that regard, it was 
different from anything in modern times. Other nations fight 
about some practical matter, about territory or for some com- 
mercial advantage. We fought, as I have said, simply in 
that stubborn conflict of ideas and opinions. In that respect 
it resembles more than anything I can think of the European 
wars immediately succeeding the Lutheran Reformation, when 
religious sentiment was the chief factor in the strife. Not only 
had we the greatest civil war in its material aspect, as I have 
said, that the world ever saw, but never before was there ever 



260 SHILOH 

a war brought on by such merely sentimental provocation. 
Other nations and other peoples have had their civil wars, and 
with those races which have wrought most effectively for 
human progress which have been able to impress themselves 
most strongly upon history, such conflicts have been the stern- 
est. It was probably inevitable in the very process of our 
national development that we should have our civil war. It 
may be that we have reason to congratulate ourselves that it 
came when it did. No matter who was wrong and who was 
right. No matter what we may surmise about the political as- 
pects which induced it. No matter what historians may say 
about the motives of the statesmen who were responsible for 
it — no blame can be rightly attributed, no word of reproach 
can justly be spoken against the soldiers who fought in that 
war; against the men who stood in the ranks and met the 
brunt of the battle. They had not sought it, but they accepted 
it with all its dangers, with all its sacrifices, with all its inevit- 
able sorrows. 

"Their's not to reason why, 
Their's but to do and die." 

Governor Cummins has spoken of one thing: that the men 
in the war were so young — mere boys — and this is very true, 
as we know. Most of you who were in the war were boys 
yourselves. These young men responded to the call, and 
rushed to arms in defense of the land that had borne them. 
Think of the wide extent of territory from which they came, 
all animated by the same feeling, the same sentiment, the 
same purpose — the highest that men can feel — from the for- 
ests of Michigan, from your own prairies of Iowa, from the 
green fields of Kentucky and Tennessee, from the hills of 
Vermont, and from the wild plains of Texas, gathered here 
to battle and slaughter. And where are they now, those boys 
who wore the blue and the gray? Battle and march have passed, 
privation and hardship have been endured unflinchingly; the 
home left, never to be seen again, that the country might be 
defended, and the boy has looked no more into the loving 









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SHILOH 261 

eyes of his mother. Loosed like young eagles, for their first 
flight between the mountain and the sky — where are they now? 
Many of them lie on innumerable battlefields, in unknown 
graves. The soldiers of the Union are gathered together in 
that beautiful cemetery, by the banks of the river over which 
floats the flag which they followed. The Confederate dead 
remain where they fell, in the glades of the forest. All of 
ihese resting places are consecrated by affection and honor. 
About them cluster memories and associations which are tender 
and loving. And "Glory guards with solemn round this bivouac 
of the dead." 



Address W. K. Abernethy 

Representing Governor Cox of Tennessee 

Gentlemen of the Commissions, Governor Cummins, Ladies 

and Fellow Citizens: 

No words can express to you my appreciation of the honor 
which this occasion and this hour confers upon me. The chief 
executive of our state, who so much desired to be present today, 
and who has been prevented by the press of official business, 
has requested that I say to the distinguished representatives 
from the state of Iowa, for him and for the people of Ten- 
nessee, that nothing could have afforded him more pleasure 
than to be present with you, and join with you in the ceremonies 
connected with this gathering. 

Speaking for our governor, I take pleasure in saying that 
the state of Tennessee, within whose borders and confines this 
magnificent military park has been located, bids you a most 
hearty welcome, and her citizens will vie with one another in 
making your visit a delightful one, and this occasion a mem- 
orable one. 

Those who love their country and its many glorious insti- 
tutions rejoice at these manifestations of love, loyalty and de- 
votion that have made possible this and similar gatherings 
here since the dedication of this National military park. People 
from distant and neighboring states have congregated here from 
time to time to pay a tribute of love and respect to the mem- 



262 SHILOH 

ories of sons whose valor, heroism and bravery won for them 
undying fame in the years long gone by. 

A little more than forty-four years ago, there were struggling 
on and over the grounds on which we now stand, two mighty 
armies. The historian has recorded the result of that great 
struggle and of the war in which it occurred. He has written 
of the causes that precipitated that conflict. He has given 
to the world the story of the privations of the armies; he has 
told you of their battles, their defeats and their victories. That 
great conflict is over and belongs to history, and I shall not 
therefore take up your time upon this occasion in dwelling at 
length upon the war between the states. What I know of it, 
I have gathered from the pages of history, and from the ex- 
periences of those who endured it from the beginning to the 
end. I can but rejoice that the war is over, and that we are 
here today the representatives of a reunited country, American 
citizens, enjoying the advantages and privileges of this peaceful 
present and joyfully contemplating the future. 

Representing as I do a generation born and reared since the 
smoke of the late conflict between the two great sections of our 
country cleared away, and Peace resumed her wonted sway 
over a united and satisfied people, prosperous today in their 
pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, welded together by the 
bands of fraternity as strong as steel, and as enduring as the 
very foundations of the hills, it is difficult for me to realize that 
there has ever been the sanguinary estrangement, the great fra- 
tricidal strife, to which many in this distinguished presence 
were eye-witnesses and in whose deadly conflicts so many were 
active participants. 

This friendly, this fraternal gathering, has brought together 
veterans who wore the blue and those who wore the gray, once 
arrayed in deadly, aggressive war, each swinging high his 
banner bright and flashing his polished steel, marching to death 
under shot of musketry and storm of leaden hail> keeping step 
to drumming cannon, urged on by the maddened kings of war, 
the blue stabbing at the life of his antagonist in gray, the 
gray parrying the thrust only to dip his blade in the blood of 
the blue; it is difficult, I say, for me to reconcile this and simi- 



SHILOH 263 

lar gatherings all over the land to the record of history. But 
such is history's record, reinforced by the testimony of the 
presence of those today who fought in that terrible war, and 
in the bloody battle of Shiloh, those whose comrades lie sleep- 
ing in the quiet sanctuary of the tomb yonder, overlooking the 
beautiful, the historic Tennessee, or resting peacefully in un- 
marked graves beneath the whisperings of the oaks or the 
moaning of the pines in yonder forest. 

The civil war was a decisive one in the history of this nation, 
and the battle of Shiloh was a decisive battle in that war. The 
civil war settled the many great questions that had been per- 
plexing to the statesmen of that day and age, and the bloody 
battle fought here on the sixth and seventh of April, 1862, 
settled the result of that war. Without that war, deplorable 
and unfortunate as It may appear, this land would have been 
the scene of many violent outbreaks, and the end could not have 
been foreseen. Constitutional liberty, aye the very constitution 
of the government was Involved; the life of the nation was at 
stake; dangers from without and within were real and appar- 
ent. Whether this government could exist half slave and half 
free, whether there should be the perpetuation of the institu- 
tion of slavery, or whether it should be abolished, whether this 
was a union of indestructible states, an indissoluble one, or 
whether It was a voluntary compact, from which one could with- 
draw without the Intervention or consent of another, these and 
other kindred and delicate questions had to be determined. 
Wars before had been waged, but no such questions had ever 
arisen as those confronting the American people in the early 
days of the sixties and prior thereto. 

The Revolution had been fought and the liberty of the colon- 
ists had been won on bloody fields, and against great odds. 

The constitution had been written long before; the war of 
1 8 12 had been fought and its results had gone on the pages of 
history without the settlement of these great questions which 
were agitating the public mind and threatening the dissolution 
of the Union. It was now that the American people were fac- 
ing a crises. They looked and beheld on the political horizon 
a cloud, flecked and afar, standing against the sky. They 



264 SHILOH 

saw that cloud enlarge and grow until It hid the sun and sky, 
and darkness covered the land. But It was only that darkness 
that preceded the sunburst of universal freedom In this land. 

Another conflict of arms must be waged, but It was not to 
be a conflict of conquest and subjugation, but of the claims of 
constitutional government, prompted and carried on by senti- 
ments of unsullied patriotism. These claims were denied by a 
people who loved their country and Its traditions. He who 
wore the gray and marched under the stars and bars was alike 
loyal to his home and his principles as was he who wore the 
blue and marched under the stars and stripes. 

A peaceable solution of these great questions had been sought 
In legislative councils. In judiciary proceedings, and at the ballot 
box, but In vain. The Issues were well defined, and all arbi- 
trament but that of the sword must be abandoned. At Sum- 
ter, Bull Run and Manassas, the signal cannons pealed forth 
the Incipient strife. The salutation Is answered In hurrying 
troopers from every nook and corner of the divided land; there 
Is heard the farewell bidding to home and loved ones, and seen 
the hurrying of platoons to the embattled front. Grant, hurry- 
ing up the Tennessee and Cumberland, and planting the vic- 
torious stars and stripes at Forts Henry and Donelson, and 
then in a hand to hand conflict at Shiloh, on this red field 
of battle, with Johnston, the Blucher of the Confederacy, 
and on to the Father of Waters to open the gateway to the 
sea, Bragg and Johnson thundering against Buell and Burn- 
sides. Thomas standing like a rock at Chlckamauga, Hooker 
scaling the heights of Eagle's Nest and fighting the battle in 
the clouds, Johnson like a giant with arms of steel, holding 
in check the advancing foe, challenging them to battle at 
Dalton, Ringgold and Kennesaw, making the last grand stand 
at Atlanta, Sherman's march and encampment at the sea, Lee 
heading his army at Gettysburg, the bloody encounters of Spott- 
sylvanla, the Wilderness and along the Rappahannock, the 
battles of Vicksburg, Franklin and Murfreesborough, and the 
dashing campaigns of that matchless chieftain, the wizard of 
the saddle, Nathan Bedford Forrest, all of these closing In the 



SHILOH 265 

imposing scene at Appomattox, surpassing in its grandeur any- 
thing in the annals of war. 

Marathon had its Miltiades; Thermopylae its Leonidas; Ar- 
bela its Alexander; Marengo and Austerlitz their Napoleon; 
Waterloo its Wellington, and Yorktown its Cornwallis and 
its Washington. But it was reserved for Appomattox to crown 
the climax and to encircle with immortelles the brows of her 
Lee and her Grant. The latter, unwilling to humiliate the heroic 
leader of the cause he had so gallantly defended and glorious- 
ly lost, appears not with sounding trumpet and bugle blast, 
caparisoned as the conqueror comes, but in the costume of the 
camp and saddle, he appears, his great heart swelling with emo- 
tions of gladness and gratitude that the end had come. He 
has shown himself the general worthy of his country and cause, 
as well as the proudest mention of history. He now, in this 
imposing hour, with the gaze of the world fixed upon him, 
does not mistake the opportimity of adding to his laurels as a 
soldier the grander glories of the statesman, philosopher and 
humanitarian. Lee, the pride of the south, who had led many 
bloody charges, the victor on many hard fought fields, but 
whether in victory or in defeat, the same calm, self-possessed, 
masterly man, has now come to lay down his sword at the grave 
of the cause he had so loyally defended, thus yielding to the 
inevitable — defeated, but his pride still pulsing through his 
great soul, he is soon to quit the life of the soldier to serve his 
country in the noble example of an American patriot and in- 
dustrious citizen. 

These and other events of military and patriotic sacrifice, oc- 
curring in rapid succession, make up a history fraught with vic- 
tories and deeds of heroic daring, long marches, privations, 
great suffering, and achievements in military science and strategy 
unknown to former wars. 

In this connection I cannot refrain from speaking briefly of 
the sequences of this unprecedented conflict. I see these 
two mighty armies, each strong and firm in the righteousness 
of its cause, made up of the boys and young men from the glebe 
and fallow, from the shop, mine and factory, from hamlet, 
town and city, responding with alacrity to the call of arms from 



266 SHILOH 

the respective heads of the warring sections, melt away like 
snow. I see the soldier in gray shaking in friendly grasp the 
hand of his erstwhile foe in blue, while the soldier in blue 
divides his rations and his money with his defeated but uncon- 
quered brother in gray, each bestowing his blessings upon the 
other, and they are foes no more but friends forever, the heirs 
of a common heritage, each proud of his valor and achievement 
in war. The bivouac is ended; the tattoo and reveille will be 
sounded no more. The sky for a covering at night and the 
blood-stained earth for a bed, have been exchanged for the com- 
forts of home. While many of the homes in this southland 
were desolate and in ruins, it was still home, sweet home. The 
knapsacks are hung up, and the old dented canteen is put on 
duty in the field. Tales of war entertain the fireside and 
social circle, and war songs are sung as the days come and go. 
Only a few months elapse until the neglected fields are blooming 
with the products of his labor. The horse that pulled the can- 
non or bore upon his back the dashing cavalier in January, now 
pulls the wagon to church for the discharged soldier and 
family in August. 

In this beloved southland, with all of its tender memories, 
and sweet associations, no battalions of soldiers or armed con- 
stabulary are needed to troop the land, to enforce allegiance 
to the flag borne by the victors In 1865. The south appealed 
to the sword, the last arbitrament of nations, she staked her 
all and lost. She accepted the result proudly and with patri- 
otic ambition set to work to redeem her waste places and to 
rebuild her fortunes by the sweat of honest brows. Trained in 
the school of liberty and democracy as preached by the Apostle 
of the New Dispensation of Freedom, our purposes and aims 
have been and ever will be, henceforward and forever the 
same. Sectional lines have vanished, and social economic and 
moral questions engage our time and thought. My faith in 
the wisdom, the patriotism and the integrity of the American 
people causes me to believe that the great questions and issues 
left us by the civil war, as grave and complex as were ever 
addressed to mankind, will be settled and settled right. Let 



SHILOH 267 

us confide in one another and in God, and our peace and salva- 
tion are assured. 

My friends, you have come from far off Iowa, to dedicate 
these monuments to your heroic and immortal dead. We all 
know that these, your testimonials of love and reverence will 
soon pass away. The tooth of time will destroy that proud 
monumental shaft, and those beautiful patriotic lines will soon 
be effaced and no longer read. But while the monuments of 
brass and marble will crumble, there is builded in your heart 
and in mine, in the hearts of all who love freedom, liberty and 
a peaceful united country, one that shall stand so long as the 
human heart can love. The deeds of your sons and of ours 
who wrote the history of a great struggle with their own blood, 
and who piled upon the altar of their country the most precious 
sacrifice, will continue to live when these proud monuments 
shall have gone to dust, for 

"On Fame's eternal camping ground 
Their silent tents are spread; 
While Glory guards with solemn round 
The bivouac of the dead." 

You who have come to our own Tennessee will soon return 
to your homes, and these imposing monuments, these testi- 
monials of a grateful state to her heroic dead, will be left to 
and entrusted to us of the south. Tennessee assures you that 
her citizens will care for them, and upon the graves of your 
soldiers, who sleep in this southland, will bloom the rose, the 
violet and the lily, and on the periodical recurrence of lovely 
springtime, when the decoration day shall come, these mounds, 
whereunder sleep your dead, will be beautified by loving hands, 
and if in your northern country some southern soldier may sleep, 
guard well his mound and keep it green. Some loved one 
here has prayed for one who never returned, and as some 
mother whose son, or some wife whose husband, or some sister 
whose brother weeps over an unknown grave here, planting 
thereon some sweet flower, caring for it with tender hand and 



268 SHILOH 

watering it with her tears she will believe that loving tender 
hands are caring for the one yonder. 

My friends, as we go hence from these grounds, hallowed by 
tender memories and baptized with the blood of heroes in the 
long ago, let us gather inspiration for the conflicts of the 
future, rejoicing that we are all citizens of the same country, 
living under the same flag, enjoying the same blessings. As you 
shall return to your homes, we assure you that you carry with 
you our warmest and kindest feelings. The southern country 
through which you have journeyed is enjoying an era of pros- 
perity. Her furnaces are aglow: her sons are in the forefront; 
her industrial development is the pride and marvel of the 
world. Our joys are your joys; our prosperity is your pros- 
perity. A more glorious day has dawned upon this nation, and 
we are all rejoicing in the hope of a more glorious future. 

Our distinguished governor, who presides over the destinies 
of two millions of peaceful, contented, prosperous and patriotic 
people, speaking for our citizenry, extends to the people of 
Iowa through her illustrious governor who graces this occasion 
with his presence, assurances of friendship and good will. If 
in the future it shall not be our good fortune to meet you again, 
may the ties that bind us here draw us together in a reunion 
beyond the River, under the shade of the trees in that sinless, 
summer land. 

Governor Cummins, Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a 
pleasure to meet you. 



Music . • . . . . Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

''Onward, Christian Soldiers" 

Address General James B. Weaver 

of Iowa 

Mr. Chairman, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Forty-four years and seven months have passed away since 

the sanguinary conflict known as the battle of Shiloh took place 

here. 

With some of you, I was numbered among the 6,664 Iowa 

men who, on that occasion, sustained the shock of battle and I 



SHILOH 269 

bore an humble part in both days' engagements. This Is the 
first glimpse I have had of the field since April eighth or 
ninth, 1862, immediately following the battle, when we turned 
our bronzed faces towards Corinth, Mississippi, another Cam- 
pus Martius in the neighboring state some twenty miles away 
to the southwest. The visit and the occasion which have called 
us hither have profoundly impressed my mind, inspired and 
quickened my memory. This serious thought, among a multi- 
tude of others, impresses me. All the great commanders who 
faced each other in this arena are gone. Some of them fell 
here — notably. Generals W. H. L. Wallace, of the Union 
forces, and Albert Sidney Johnston, of the Confederates. These 
men fell by the side of thousands of the brave men who served 
under them. Nearly all of their subordinates, and the rank 
and file — as gallant as were ever marshaled or led to battle up- 
on the earth, have passed into the realm beyond. And yet it 
seems but as yesterday since we were here in the strength, bloom 
and fire of our youth. Friends, there is no time. We live in 
eternity. We count what we call days and years by the rising 
and setting of the sun, the recurrence of the seasons and the 
return of the equinoxes. But neither sunshine nor shadow, 
darkness or light; neither the seasons nor the movements of the 
heavenly bodies can separate us from eternity in which we live 
and move, and which (a most comforting thought) is also the 
dwelling place of our Almighty Creator and loving Father. 

It seems to me that the firmament above our heads is full of 
the disembodied spirits of our old comrades. The blue and 
the gray are at peace over there, and I fervently thank Al- 
mighty God that their surviving friends, now constituting a 
united and mighty nation, are at peace also — peace among 
themselves. 

If our eyes should be opened as were the eyes of the servant 
of the Prophet Elisha, we would behold the air filled with 
chariots and with horsemen. They are certainly all about 
us, and we can almost feel them fanning our brows, hear the 
rustle of their celestial garments and can almost grasp them 
bv the hand. 



270 SHILOH 

But why was this battle fought, and what lasting good was 
accomplished for civilization by the prodigious sacrifices made 
here and then — a combat so epoch making that a half century 
after it took place it calls for the erection of these cenotaphs 
and mausoleums, designed to challenge the attention of man- 
kind for all time? The world knows what was accomplished 
at Marathon in the year 490 B. c. But for that victory all 
Greece would otherwise have become a part of Persia. Persian 
power was on that occasion broken forever. The 192 Greeks 
who laid down their lives to accomplish that result were ac- 
corded the honor of burial upon the field and the tumulus which 
covers their dust remains to the present day. Ten thousand 
Greeks under Miltiades, with a loss of only 192 men, van- 
quished 110,000 Persians under Darius. The important 
achievement secured to the world by that victory is easy of 
comprehension. 

We know what the battle of Pharsaha signified. In the year 
48 B. c.^ Caesar, the Commoner, brought the civil war to a 
close by overthrowing Pompey, the aristocrat, and with him 
the hosts of the Roman aristocracy. It ushered in the era 
of peace throughout the Roman empire and prepared mankind 
for the advent of the new conscience from Palestine. From 
two households then formed or forming in the atmosphere of 
love's sweet afiiance, were soon to issue John the Baptist from 
the one, and the Virgin Mother and the Prince of Peace from 
the other. A greater than Caesar came. We can grasp, then, 
the significance of the great conflict at Pharsalia. We can also 
understand the value to mankind the triumph of Charles Mar- 
tel. Eight hundred years after Pharsalia, at the end of seven 
days of hard fighting Charles the Hammer, on the banks of 
Loire, midway between Tours and Poitiers, hurled the Sara- 
cens from France, drove them beyond the Pyrenees, saved 
Europe from the grasp of the Turk, and made it the abode 
of our blessed Christian faith. Had Charles Martel failed, 
all Europe would have become Mohammedan. Although 
these great battles occurred 2,500, 2,000 and 1,300 years ago, 
respectively, their ripe fruits in an ever increasing harvest is 



SHILOH 271 

constantly falling Into the lap of civilization and will continue 
to bless all generations of men through all time. 

I have mentioned these three great battles of antiquity and 
merely hinted at their lasting significance in order that I might 
help you, as well as myself, to grasp more clearly the far reach- 
ing character of the victory at Shiloh. It was indeed a costly 
victory and can not be justified by the considerate judgment of 
mankind unless some lasting good was secured. The first day, 
the Union forces consisted of about 40,000 men and the Con- 
federates about 44,000. The second day the Union army was 
reinforced by nearly 18,000 men under General Buell, which 
gave us greater preponderance over the Confederates on the 
second day than they had over us on the first. 

The total loss of the Union army In both days was 13,047 — 
or 22 per cent, the total loss of the Confederate army, both 
days, was 10,699 — ^^ ^4 P^'' cent, the total number of men 
engaged on both sides was 101,716 and the total loss was 
23,746 — or 23 1/2 per cent. Iowa had 6,664 iTien engaged 
with a total loss of 2,409 — or 36 per cent. 

General Grant says, in his Memoirs, "Shiloh was the severest 
battle fought at the west during the war, and but few in 
the east equalled It for hard, determined fighting." Grant was 
a competent judge. He was here in person. His impressive 
figure, stern face, and resolute bearing were photographed in- 
delibly upon my brain as I saw him ride along our depleted 
lines. He knew what victory would mean and grasped the 
full significance of possible defeat. The victory, dearly pur- 
chased, was with the Union arms. The Confederate army, 
sorely decimated, was sent reeling in despair to the southward. 

When Albert Sidney Johnston attacked our lines so furiously 
and so unexpectedly on Sabbath morning, April 6, 1862, he 
knew that Grant's army, including Buell's forces, numbered 
less than 60,000 men. He knew that this was the only obstacle 
between the Confederate army and the banks of the Ohio. If 
that force could be overcome, the cities of Louisville, Cincin- 
nati and Nashville with their adjacent territory were within 
his grasp, and that henceforward the war would have to be 
fought out in the north. Johnston knew further that the defeat 



272 SHILOH 

of the Union forces here meant the annihilation of Grant's 
army — for remember that yonder river (pointing to the Ten- 
nessee), swollen to its brim, was back of us, and in case of de- 
feat, made our retreat impossible and our capture certain. If 
defeated, we would have no army left in the west. The west, 
then, was saved by this victory and the Confederate forces were 
hurled southward upon their own territory, and their dream 
of northern invasion from the west was gone forever. Hence- 
forth, they were to act chiefly upon the defensive. This was 
the immediate result achieved on this field. It opened the way 
for the later triumphs at Corinth and Vicksburg, and made it 
reasonable to expect success at Mission Ridge and Lookout 
Mountain. It enabled Sherman to enter upon his succession 
of victories which made his march to the sea possible. Our 
victory here then was of tremendous consequence to the Union 
and Confederate forces, and to their respective governments. 
Yea more, it was one of the bloody blows delivered during the 
war for human rights, and for the equality of all men before 
the law. It was one of the great events of the war that made 
final emancipation of the black race possible, and it lit up the 
Declaration of Independence with its original effulgence. Along 
with other similar battles, it quickened the conception of all the 
world of that unalterable truth that "all men are created equal 
and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, 
among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and 
that governments are instituted among men to secure these 
rights and not to destroy them. That the unconstrained consent 
of the subject is essential to all good government. This declara- 
tion, and the amendments to the constitution which followed 
the civil war, must and will forever stand. They "were 
graven with an iron pen and lead In the rock forever." All 
attempts to shake them are frivolous and merely loquacious. 

The things accomplished In the sixties are numbered among 
the eternal verities, and their logic is inexorable. The fifteenth 
amendment Is among these verities. To disturb or attempt 
to disturb them can In no way afford a solution of the per- 
plexing problems bequeathed to us by the civil war. On the 
contrary, it would delay their solution Indefinitely. 



SHILOH 273 

I noticed a few days ago that Governor Vardaman of Mis- 
sissippi — a gentleman for whose exalted talents and sincerity 
of purpose I have the highest appreciation — is reported to have 
said, on the occasion of the dedication of the Illinois monu- 
ments at Vicksburg, that he did not believe that all men are 
created equal. He thinks there are inferior races. I deny it. 
God's inferior family is found among the brute creation and 
over them man has complete dominion. But he was never given 
dominion over his brother. You cannot find it in the commis- 
sion. Can he find a race of men not endowed by their Creator 
with the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of 
happiness? If he can not, then all races of men are entitled to 
an opportunity to develop all the good there is in them, and the 
privilege of doing this within their own governments instituted 
by themselves. But when a race of a lower order of develop- 
ment is domiciled with a race of superior development, must 
the race of inferior growth be allowed to dominate the superior? 
A thousand times no. It is contrary to the natural order. It 
can never be. One of the errors both of emancipators and the 
apologists is that having developed one truth they have too 
often failed to reason on to other cognate truths. They stop 
short in their investigations and think there is no more truth 
beyond. They see one star through a rift in the clouds, and 
conclude that it is the only star in the firmament. 

I observe that the Honorable John Sharpe Williams, in a 
recent utterance, advises the people of the south to import white 
labor to take the place of the present industrial force. This is 
most excellent advice, and should be acted upon in every south- 
ern state at once. But it does not touch the alarming situation 
that confronts the southern people. It does not touch the real 
dilemma that confronts the whole country, and that concerns 
us all — ^What is to be done with the Negro? I realize that the 
question to which I am now addressing myself is unquestionably 
one of the overshadowing contentions of the age in which we 
live. It is the second and complex phase of the controversy that 
precipitated our civil war. I cannot at this time treat the 
subject fully — simply suggestively. But why temporize? It 
must be met. We must look squarely at it and settle it justly 

Mon.-18 



274 SHILOH 

and quickly. While I cherish firmly the doctrine that all men 
are created equal, I also hold that this is a white man's govern- 
ment. The two apothegms are not in conflict. They are both 
true. This has been made clear to me by the lapse of time, the 
growth of the problem, and by research. Formerly I abhorred 
the latter when it was made to do service for slavery. But I 
now suggest that it be made the slogan of final emancipation. 
France is the Frenchman's government, England is the English- 
man's government, China is the government of the Mongolian. 
This is the white man's government and Africa the black man's 
government, or country. But all nations of men were created 
equal. There are four great mountain peaks that stand hard 
by the stream of human history and lift their heads through 
the clouds into perpetual sunshine. First, in the councils of 
eternity, God said, Let us make man. Thousands of years 
afterward, He sent His Son into the world to redeem man — 
not any one race of men — and by the grace of God, Jesus 
Christ tasted death for every man. Less than a century after 
the crucifixion, that marvelous man Paul stood up at Mars Hill 
and said to the learned Greeks, "Of one blood God hath cre- 
ated all the nations of men who dwell upon the face of the 
whole earth and hath defined the bounds of their habitations." 
There is a scientific, ethnological fact clearly stated. If your 
streets are stained with blood, your chemist can tell you whether 
it is the blood of a human being or of one of the lower animals. 
But he can not tell you whether it is the blood of a white man 
or a black man. But 1,700 years after Paul's speech at Mars 
Hill, Thomas Jefferson, with PauHne faith, declared, and our 
forefathers proclaimed it, that all men are created equal and 
endowed by their Creator with the inalienable rights of life, 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that to secure these 
ends governments are instituted among men deriving their just 
powers from the consent of the governed. Now there are the 
four mountain peaks upon whose majestic brows is gleaming 
and will forever gleam the Divine halo — creation, redemption, 
unity of blood and equality of rights for all men derived from 
heaven. I thank my Creator that these great landmarks are 
forever beyond the reach of malice, ignorance or greed. 



SHILOH 275 

But if all men are created with equality of rights, and at the 
same time this is a white man's government, what is to be done 
with the Negro ? Did you catch Paul's meaning when he said 
that God had created of one blood all the nations and "defined 
the bounds of their habitations?" America is not the Negro's 
habitat. This country is not within his habitation. God never 
domiciled two nations of men together. Heaven loves peace 
and commands justice. When one nation invades another, you 
have war. When the Mongolian attempts to crowd in upon us, 
there is trouble, and they are excluded by law. Commercial 
relations are natural and tend to peace. But all attempts to 
settle two distinct and antagonistic races within the same terri- 
tory is unnatural and destructive of social security. The Negro 
does not belong here. He was brought hither by crime, which 
was prompted by greed. He is out of his latitude and away 
from home. He can never reach his natural and proper devel- 
opment here. He has a country richly endowed with everything 
necessary to the comfort and happiness of man. There he can 
live in peace, equality and respectability. He can never do so 
on this continent. Two distinct races can not dwell together in 
happiness. We might as well recognize this burning fact first 
as last. Neither can the Negro be held among us in a position 
of inferiority and dependence. It is contrary to sound ethics, 
at war with the whole genius of our institutions, and it makes 
the Golden Rule a farce. While here of course the Negro must 
be secure in his rights before the law, and the door of oppor- 
tunity open to him. But he should be prepared for his exodus 
— not by forcible deportation, but by voluntary, intelligent mi- 
gration. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. That people 
never could have been incorporated into the Egyptian body 
politic. They went to their own country through forty years 
of rough discipline, in order that they might accomplish their 
Divinely appointed work. The Negro has had a like proba- 
tion. Our whole national policy toward him has been false, 
cruel, and unchristian. At the close of the war, he should have 
been sent home by deportation instead of being made the play- 
thing of politicians. It was not done, however, and now the 
problem is upon us with tremendous weight. It is estimated 



276 SHILOH 

that they are increasing at the rate of 1,500 per month. They 
numbered four millions at the close of the war. They now 
number ten millions. At the end of the next forty years they 
will reach the forty million mark, and within the lifetime of 
children now born they will nearly, if not quite, number one 
hundred millions. 

Now what is to be done with them? Talk of the problems 
which are pressing upon us for a solution — and they are many 
and mighty; but none of them are equal In Importance to this 
awful storm now gathering upon our horizon. We of the north 
are too far from the storm center to be properly sympathetic 
with our white brethren In the south, and they are too near to 
have an accurate perspective of the situation. One thing is 
sure — they can not be retained here as hewers of wood and 
drawers of water for the cultivated men among whom they 
dwell. They can not be kept here for exploitation. They can 
not be retained In the south, for soon the south will not be big 
enough to hold them. They can not. In any considerable num- 
bers, he diffused throughout the north, for they are fast becom- 
ing as distasteful to us as they are to the south. We must awake 
to the fact that the Federal government has not discharged, it 
has scarcely begun to discharge, its full measure of duty toward 
these people. It liberated them and sent them adrift without 
chart or compass. It must now promote their exodus. Let the 
whole Negro race In this country set their faces toward Africa 
and a Black Republic. I would have the colored schools and 
colleges make the study of Africa a part of their curriculum. 
They should send expeditions of their brightest young men and 
women to Africa to study its climate and resources, and they 
should return and make report as did the spies who explored 
Canaan, and these reports should be scattered among the col- 
ored people like the leaves of the forest. When they learn of 
their Inheritance, they will go, and their Moses will appear. 
The coasts of Africa should be surveyed and its harbors 
sounded. Its rivers navigated, its forests penetrated and its 
mines prospected. Colored medical students should be sent to 
study climatic diseases and remedies. The Federal government 
should encourage this, open the way by its splendid diplomacy. 



9 ts 



5= > 




SHILOH 277 

and all good people of the north and south should speak of the 
contemplated exodus with favor. 

The immigration of white labor will be slow, of course, and 
so will the exodus of the blacks. The one will come in as the 
other goes out, and there will be no resultant shock to indus- 
trial progress. The young and the middle-aged among the 
Negroes should lead the way to the promised land, and the 
older classes can go later. These people were brought here in 
chains in the dismal holds of slave ships. Let them return as 
freemen in our modern ocean steamers and with the flag of the 
Black Republic streaming from the masthead. I pray God 
that the people of the United States may awake to the situa- 
tion ere it is too late. 



Music j^ifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"star Spangled Banner" 

Address Nathan E. Kendall 

of Iowa 

Mr. President, Members of the Shiloh Monument Commis- 
sion, Veterans of the Civil War, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
For the distinguished honor which is now conferred upon me 
I return the acknowledgment of my sincere gratitude. Two 
score and four years ago at this hour this splendid nation of 
ours, now so happy and peaceful and contented in every section 
of its territory, was engaged in a tremendous conflict to deter- 
mine whether any government deriving its just powers from the 
consent of the governed and dedicated to the proposition that 
all men are created equal, could maintain its own integrity 
among the peoples of the earth; a conflict so significant, so 
appalling, so unparalleled in the written records of civilization 
that the imagination, however vigorous and resourceful, is in- 
competent to delineate its immeasurable magnitude. I am 
profoundly impressed by the consideration, Mr. President, that 
we are at this moment assembled upon one of the principal 
battlefields of all history. It is a theater upon which, in April, 
1862, there was illustrated the sublimest exhibitions of Ameri- 
can bravery, American endurance, American patriotism. Here 



278 SHILOH 

the intrepid Johnston, sustained by the fearless daring of the 
south, encountered the invincible Grant, supported by the su- 
perb courage of the north. And in the carnage of that awful 
collision were blood and death and immortality. The heroes 
who shall sleep forever in this sacred soil, whether robed in 
the blue of victory or in the gray of defeat, each battled to his 
grave for a principle which he believed with every aspiration of 
his soul to be right; each rendered to his country the last final 
measure of duty as he conceived it; and the incomparable valor 
of each is now the priceless heritage of all our people. And as, 
with uncovered heads, we tarry momentarily at this historic 
spot made holy by the lives here sacrificed for free government, 
In the shadow of this imperial column erected by the pride and 
gratitude of a mighty state, let us again highly resolve that 
these dead shall not have died in vain, and let us consecrate our- 
selves anew to the great cause for which they surrendered their 
precious lives. When the statesmanship of the Revolution or- 
ganized this government and adopted our constitution, it guar- 
anteed to all citizens, catholic and protestant, puritan and cav- 
alier, royalist and republican, equal security in life, property 
and the pursuit of happiness ; and bottomed upon this principle 
the United States of America entered upon its long career of 
prosperity and usefulness and honor. The student of affairs 
is interested and yet perplexed when he Is compelled to consider 
that even at the remote day when Washington was inducted by 
unanimous acclaim into the first presidency, there existed radical 
difference of opinion respecting the character of the New Re- 
public. One school of thought affirmed that It was merely a 
voluntary association of sovereign states subject to be dissolved 
at the election of any one or number of Its membership. An- 
other school of thought maintained that it was an Union, in- 
separable. Imperishable, perpetual. Out of this disparity of 
belief, honestly entertained and earnestly defended, there arose 
as the years elapsed heated discussion, bitter controversy, crim- 
ination and recrimination; all to be adjudicated forever, to be 
adjudicated irrevocably, to be adjudicated right, at VIcksburg, 
and Shiloh and Appomattox Court House. And In that dark 
and doubtful day there were patriots tried and true. It affords 



SHILOH 279 

us infinite satisfaction to remember, Mr. President, that in that 
supreme crisis which wrenched and almost wrecked the Repub- 
lic, our own peerless commonwealth sustained no inconspicuous 
part and achieved no inconsiderable renown. Her brave boys 
in blue were on every tedious march, in every sweltering trench, 
at every deadly charge ; always the first to the front and the last 
to the rear. And they did not sheath their swords nor stack 
their guns until the emancipation of the slave and the perma- 
nence of the Union were assured. 

It is not possible to refer to the heroes living and dead who 
struggled here except in language which, in any other connec- 
tion, would be condemned as inexcusable extravagance. They 
are the most resplendent stars in all the firmament of humanity. 
Nobler than the Roman, grander than the Greek, they sup- 
pressed an insurrection without a precedent and without a par- 
allel. I have for every one of them a deep and reverent affec- 
tion, and I seldom deliver public address without acknowledg- 
ing my individual obligation to the men who rescued this Repub- 
lic when it was attacked by open treason at the south, and as- 
sailed by covert disloyalty at the north. No hope of conquest 
induced their enlistment in the great army of freedom; no am- 
bition of office reconciled them to the indescribable sacrifices 
which they embraced. The historian of the future will not 
discover in all the annals of the past a more inspiring example 
of human grandeur than that presented by the volunteer sol- 
diers of America who conquered the armed enemies of their gov- 
ernment upon the bloody battlefields of the civil war. Nothing 
could be more gratifying to the martyrs who perished here, 
could they be conscious of it, than the reflection that their un- 
rivalled exploits are recounted with solemn but exultant ap- 
proval upon every proper occasion. So long as we understand 
the principle of gratitude, so long as we comprehend the benefi- 
cence of liberty, so long as we canonize the exhibition of loy- 
alty, so long will we preserve the splendid history of the most 
gigantic civil struggle in the annals of humanity. The soldiery 
of any country represents its physical sovereignty, and no nation 
can organize an army so imposing or so powerful as were those 
invincible battalions which mustered under the stars and stripes 



280 SHILOH 

from 1861 to 1865. No soldiery ever entered a field with such 
noble purpose, and none ever emerged with a record of such 
glorious accomplishment. When our beloved flag was insulted, 
when our territorial integrity was threatened, when our national 
life was imperiled, they promptly responded to the appeal of 
President Lincoln, and cheerfully embraced self immolation 
to secure the perpetuity of this government of the people, by the 
people and for the people, and to render forever positive the 
certainty that that government, after being baptized in the 
sacred blood of the Revolutionary fathers, should not disappear 
from the earth, but that it, under God, should have everlasting 
hfe. 

The civil war was an unprecedented catastrophe. Reflect 
a moment. The terrible loss of life, the tremendous destruc- 
tion of treasure, the firesides ruined, the hearthstones deso- 
lated, the fami-lies beggared, the national travail and wretched- 
ness and misery, the individual suffering and sacrifice and death I 
Think of the faithful husband, as he renounces the sweet and 
tender associations of home; think of his goodbye to his de- 
voted wife and his cherished children, and then think of him on 
the bloody field of battle, slowly dying of a mortal wound, and 
all for principle, all for liberty, all to maintain an united gov- 
ernment of indestructible states, one and indivisible, then and 
forever! Think of the dutiful son, the silent joy of an affec- 
tionate and solicitous mother, the stalwart support of an aged 
and declining father, think of his farewell to those sorrow- 
stricken parents; farewell, not until tomorrow, not until next 
week, not until after a while, but farewell until they all shall 
stand at the last day, in the presence of each other, before the 
judgment bar of God! Think of the romantic suitor, as he 
sighs au revoir to the soft-voiced siren who has long reigned 
empress in his heart. Behold a splendid handsome fellow, 
strolling in a quiet woody place with the maiden he adores! 
Perhaps it is the last interview they ever will have on this earth. 
The surroundings are of an inspiring character. There is the 
fife and the drum and the uniform and the march, and there are 
the grand old patriotic songs that stir men's souls. Here are 
the sweethearts under the shade and sanctity of a leafy arbor; 



SHILOH 281 

all without is tumult and confusion, all within is confidence and 
love. The fragrant flowers are swinging and swaying and 
blooming in the summer sunset, the care-free birds are warbling 
forth their sweetest strains in the stately treetops, the solitary 
nightingale is singing his song of joy and pain, and this rueful 
Romeo is whispering to his gentle Juliet the old, old story which 
always is new at every repetition. But suddenly the drums 
beat, the advance is sounded, they must part for a time — it may 
be forever. Think of that young hero as he marches away to 
the wild, grand music of the war: 

"His not to reason why, 
His but to do and die." 

And then think of him on this sanguinary field, yielding up his 
young life that the Great Republic might live. My countrymen, 
you may suggest that in the painting of these pictures I have 
employed only the darkest and most somber colors, but I in- 
sist that they are only typical of an hundred thousand similar 
tragedies. We try to measure all the sorrow and the sacrifice, 
and we are transfixed with horror. The eyes grow dim, the 
lips are silent, the heart is still. Oh, how superb, how magnifi- 
cent, how glorious, how cruel, how terrible, how remorseless is 
war to the victorious and to the vanquished ! 

It was a calamity unspeakably sorrowful, that fratricidal mis- 
understanding between the people of the north and the people 
of the south. But we long ago learned to know beyond all 
doubting truly, that the Almighty has his own purposes and that 
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 
There could not be a new birth of freedom so long as the old 
institution of slavery survived. There could not be a more per- 
fect union in peace until the doctrine of the states' rights per- 
ished by the sword. There could not be remission of national 
sin without the shedding of individual blood. And so the war 
was inevitable. It was an awful retribution, but its compensa- 
tions were more than manifold, for out of it there emerged 
the regenerated, the reunited, the real Republic, which is now 
the miracle and the marvel of all the civilized communities of 



282 SHILOH 

the earth. The conflict itself has become a priceless and im- 
perishable memory, cherished everywhere throughout the length 
and breadth of our common country. And it is our common 
country now. A little while ago I witnessed a spectacle which 
to me was a genuine revelation. There were miles of car- 
riages, civic societies in full uniform, salvos of artillery, regal 
pomp, and military pageantry. The occasion was the unveiling 
of that historic statue erected on the Lake Front by the grati- 
tude and generosity of the state of Illinois in honor of General 
John A. Logan. Throughout the five miles of that remarkable 
procession, the atmosphere was enriched with continuous cheers, 
as Federal and Confederate emulated each other in tribute to 
that redoubtable warrior, the superb "Black Eagle" of the 
Fifteenth Army Corps. And as I looked upon that demonstra- 
tion, I said to myself, it is our common country now. In the 
national park at Chickamauga, the sovereign state of Ken- 
tucky has erected a single monument to her sons in blue and her 
sons in gray, who fought and fell on that decisive field. And 
on that magnificent marble there is inscribed these significant 
and inspiring words: 

"As we are united in life, and they in death, let one monu- 
ment perpetuate their undying deeds, and one people, forgetful 
of all the bitterness of the past, ever hold in grateful remem- 
brance all the glories of the terrible conflict which made all 
men free, and retained every star upon our nation's flag." 

And when but yesterday I stood in the shadow of that im- 
perial column and read that noble sentiment composed by a 
Colonel who commanded a Confederate regiment, I said to 
myself again, it is our common country now. Who, indeed, 
can doubt it after the memorable incidents of the Spanish- 
American war? That was an unfortunate and sanguinary con- 
troversy in which we became embroiled with a semi-barbarous 
power, but let it be remembered that it was not of our own pro- 
voking. After exhausting every resource of pacific diplomacy, 
the government of the United States was compelled to submit 
the questions at issue to the arbitrament of the sword. We 
forbore until forbearance ceased to be a virtue, we delayed 
until dilatoriness was fast becoming a crime. Yonder on the 



SHILOH 283 

little island of Cuba, thousands of innocent women and children 
were starving at our very threshold. Cruelties and inhumanities 
beyond description were daily practiced upon inoffensive non- 
combatants. Robbery, rapine, and murder without example 
characterized the conduct of Spain toward her impoverished 
dependencies. We petitioned, and our petitions were ignored 
with contempt. We remonstrated, and our remonstrances were 
scorned with defiance. We protested, and our protests were 
spurned with derision. Finally the good ship Maine was de- 
stroyed, and by that last act of infamy two hundred and sixty- 
six of our gallant seamen, upon a friendly visit to a supposedly 
friendly port, with no moment's warning of impending danger, 
were ruthlessly slaughtered, and without a conscious struggle 
they passed from the repose of sleep to the repose of death. 
Then came our declaration of war. It was a trumpet call to 
duty, and it unified this country as no other agency could have 
accomplished. Party disagreements were forgotten in the 
national peril. Personal differences were silenced in the pres- 
ence of insult to the flag. Instantly, a million men were ready 
to respond to the crisis, and they came from every city, from 
every town, from every village, from every hamlet in the broad 
commonwealth. For the first time in generations there was no 
north, no south, no east, no west; only a common country, 
whose dignity had been challenged, whose authority had been 
impeached. Everywhere the old songs, once sung to symbolize 
antagonistic sections, were now rendered alternately and indis- 
criminately by the grand orchestra of aroused, enthusiastic, 
united American patriots. Thus fortified we proceeded from 
victory to victory, while vengeance was ours, and until we had 
repaid. That war was doubly holy because it was a concrete 
defense of humanity in the abstract. It was our supreme privi- 
lege to emancipate a beleagured people, to avenge fiendish and 
brutal assassination, and once again to banish European tyranny 
from the occidental hemisphere. My countrymen, I do not 
know what your opinion may be, and I trust that I do not abuse 
this occasion, but I announce the profound conviction that 
there is no place in the territory of this western continent for 
any but American institutions; there is no room in the atmos- 



284 SHILOH 

phere of this western world for any but the American flag. And 
in that brief but brilliant engagement with Spain, when I saw 
the Federal General Merritt and the Confederate General 
Wheeler standing side by side and shoulder to shoulder under 
the stars and stripes of the national Union, achieving a new 
and illustrious glory for our resplendent Republic, I said to my- 
self again, a thousand times, it is our common country now. 
From Maine to California, from the great lakes to the Gulf of 
Mexico, the veterans in blue and the veterans in gray are 
unanimously committed to the proposition that this is a single 
commonwealth with a single flag and a single destiny. And thus 
in harmony of spirit the comrades of Grant and the comrades 
of Lee are journeying down to the twilight of life together with 
charity for all, with malice toward none. The old anger, the 
ancient acrimony, all unfriendly feeling, is rapidly vanishing, 
aye, we believe It has completely vanished from the recollections 
of men. Over the graves of the fallen dead the spring has cast 
its tender violets, the summer Its gorgeous field of flowers, the 
autumn its golden withered leaves, the winter Its blanket of 
crystal snow. All Is forgiven, all is forgotten except the glorious 
results of the combat In which our soldiers were engaged, the 
reminiscences of it in which they alone have the right to indulge, 
and the obligation which devolves upon us to establish appro- 
priate memorials to commemorate their heroism. The past, so 
filled with magnificent achievement. Is past. We turn with undi- 
minished confidence to the unexplored future. Today, we are 
the most Important people on earth, today we are the most pro- 
gressive, today we are the most enlightened. We know more 
than any other people. We have more books on our shelves, 
more pictures on our walls, more thought In our brains. We 
have more pleasant homes In this country, more happy children, 
more beautiful women, more intellectual men; and the world is 
higher and grander and nobler than ever before. And the 
government which the fidelity of the north preserved at Shiloh 
and on a thousand other fields of carnage, is the best govern- 
ment ever organized by man. No other nation so nearly ap- 
proaches absolute equality, no other republic ever survived half 
so long without a successful revolution, and every additional 



SHILOH 285 

star that we imprint upon our emblazoned banner is a perpetual 
evidence that we intend to advance throughout all eternity. 
And this shall constitute the marvelous future of our country; 
that it is and shall be for all time, the United States of America. 
What is he whose heart is not uplifted, whose soul is not en- 
raptured, whose spirit is not transfigured by the mighty magic 
of those symbolic words — the "United States of America"? 

"Breathes there the man, with soul so dead. 
Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land ! 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, 
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd 

From wandering on a foreign strand ! 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; 
Despite those titles, power and pelf, 
The wretch, concentered all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown. 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung. 
Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung." 

The United States of America ! The immortal principles of 
justice and equity which underlie it! The incomparable bene- 
fits which it secures to its citizenship! The inestimable sacri- 
fices which have been suffered to maintain it ! It is our home, 
our country, our beloved government, bequeathed to us forever 
by the venerated fathers, the most invaluable inheritance ever 
bestowed upon the sons of men! And it shall go forward 
forever, surmounting one obstacle after another in the path- 
way of its development and of its destiny, until at the last it 
shall seize and hold and reflect the glory and the grandeur of all 
the earth. Joaquin Miller, that erratic, eccentric and almost 
insane genius of the Sierra Nevadas, has written a poem of 
Columbus and his voyage, of its hope and fear and doubt and 



286 SHILOH 

despair, and of Its ultimate reward in the discovery of an un- 
suspected continent. I never read that poem that I do not 
instinctively feel that its exalted sentiment typifies the irre- 
sistible progress of my country: 

"Behind him lay the gray Azores, 

Behind the gates of Hercules; 
Before him not the ghost of shores; 

Before him only shoreless seas. 
The good mate said: 'Now must we pray, 

For lo ! the very stars are gone. 
Brave Adm'r'l, speak, what shall I say?' 

"Why say: 'Sail on! Sail on! and on.' " 

"They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,, 

Until at last the blanched mate said: 
'Why, now not even God would know 

Should I and all my men fall dead. 
These very winds forget their way, 

For God from these dread seas is gone. 
Now speak, brave Adm'r'l, speak and say — ' 

He said: 'Sail on! Sail on! and on!' 

"They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: 

'This mad sea shows his teeth tonight. 
He curls his lip, he Hes In wait. 

With lifted teeth, as If to bite! 
Brave Adm'r'l say but one good word : 

What shall we do when hope is gone?' 
The words leapt like a leaping sword: 

'Sail on ! Sail on ! Sail on ! and on !' 

"Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, 

And peered through darkness. Ah, that night 
Of all dark nights! and then a speck — 

A light! a light! a hght! a light! 
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! 

It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. 
He gained a world; he gave that world 

Its grandest lesson : 'On ; Sail on !' " 



SHILOH 287 

And so, my countrymen, shall this imperial Republic of ours, 
proud of yesterday, contented with today, hopeful for tomor- 
row, sail on and on and on throughout the countless cycles of its 
shining career, until finally it shall realize the loftiest aspiration 
of the most devoted patriot who ever offered his best blood to 
establish it, to maintain it, to defend it. Veterans of the great- 
est conflict in all history, living and dead, this is your con- 
tribution to the happiness of humanity, to the welfare of the 
world ! At the last day, when all men appear to be judged 
according to the deeds done in the body, surely the approving 
voice of the great Master will pronounce upon each of you the 
triumphant benediction : "Well done, good and faithful serv- 
ant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 



Music . . . ' . . Fifty-fifth Iowa Regimental Band 

"America" 

Benediction Rev. Dr. A. L. Frisbie 

"Now be the peace of God upon all the resting places of our 
myriad dead, and upon the homes of the living, north and 
south, the peace of God, forevermore. Amen." 

Taps 

After the close of the dedication exercises, a brief 
sacred concert was rendered by the Fifty-fifth Iowa 
regimental band at the National cemetery, a short dis- 
tance from the monument. 



IOWA 5HIL0H BATTLEFIELD 

MONUMEMT COMni55ION 




THE COMMISSION AND ITS WORK. 

MEMBERS. 

George L. Godfrey, Des Moines, Second Iowa infantry. 

George W. Crosley, Webster City, Third Iowa infantry. 

Alexander J. Miller, Oxford, Sixth Iowa infantry. 

Robert G. Reiniger, Charles City, Seventh Iowa infantry. 

William B. Bell, Washington, Eighth Iowa infantry. 

George O. Morgridge, Muscatine, Eleventh Iowa infantry. 

Erastus B. Soper, Emmetsburg, Twelfth Iowa infantry. 

Chas. W. Kepler, Mount Vernon, Thirteenth Iowa infantry. 

*Daniel Matson, Kossuth, Fourteenth Iowa infantry. 

James W. Carson, Woodburn, Fifteenth Iowa infantry. 

John Hayes, Red Oak, Sixteenth Iowa infantry. 

Chairman — E. B. Soper, Emmetsburg; William Bell, Wash- 
ington. 

Vice-Chairman — William Bell, Washington; George W. 
Crosley, Webster City. 

Secretary — John Hayes, Red Oak. 

The Twenty-eighth General Assembly appropriated the sum 
of fifty thousand dollars for the purpose of perpetuating the 
memory of those who participated in the battle of Shiloh 
and designating by proper monuments and markers of granite 
the positions of the several commands of Iowa Volunteers 
there engaged April 6 and 7, 1862. 

The act, approved April 6, 1900, provided for the appoint- 
ment by the Governor of a commission composed of men who 
were present and participated in the battle — one soldier from 
each of the eleven Iowa regiments engaged. 

The State Monument. 

The state monument was designed by F. E. Triebel of New 
York City and is composed of Barre, Vermont, granite and 
United States standard bronze. The base is thirty-four feet 

*Appointed November 21, 1900, to succeed W. T. Shaw, resigned. 
Mon.-19 (289) 



290 SHILOH 

square and rests on a solid foundation of concrete nine feet 
thick. The monument is seventy-five feet high. Surmounting 
the main shaft is a bronze capital, globe and eagle fifteen feet 
ten Inches in height — the wings of the eagle are fifteen feet 
from tip to tip. Ascending the steps at the base of the monu- 
ment is the symbolical bronze statue of "Fame" inscribing a 
tribute of homage in the granite. The height of the figure 
"Fame" is twelve feet six inches. The monument stands upon 
a commanding eminence overlooking the National Cemetery and 
the Tennessee River. The cost of the monument was twenty- 
five thousand dollars. 

INSCRIPTIONS ON STATE MONUMENT. 

(Front) 

This monument is erected by the State of Iowa in commem- 
oration of the loyalty, patriotism and bravery of her sons who, 
on this battlefield of Shiloh on the 6th and 7th days of April, 
A. D. 1862, fought to perpetuate the sacred union of the states. 

(Reverse) 

REGIMENTS ENGAGED. 

2nd Infantry, Lt. Col. James Baker. 

Srd Infantry, Maj. W. M. Stone. 

6th Infantry, Capt. J. W. Williams. 

yth Infantry, Lt. Col. J. C. Parrott. 

8th Infantry, Col. J. L. Geddes. 

nth Infantry, Lt. Col. William Hall. 

I2th Infantry, Col. J. J. Woods. 

iSth Infantry, Col. M. M. Crocker. 

14th Infantry, Col. W. T. Shaw. 

15th Infantry, Col. H. T. Reid. 

1 6th Infantry, Col. Alex. Chambers. 

IOWA SOLDIERS COMMANDING BRIGADES. 

1st Brig., 1st Div. — Col. A. M. Hare, nth Iowa, (wound- 
ed) ; Col. M. M. Crocker, 13th Iowa. 



SHILOH 291 

1st Brig., 2nd Div. — Col. J. M, Tuttle, 2d Iowa. 
1st Brig., 4th Div. — Col. N. G. Williams, 3rd Iowa 
(wounded) . 

3rd Brig., 4th Div. — Brig. Gen. J. G. Lauman. 
1st Brig., 5th Div. — Col. J. A. McDowell, 6th Iowa. 

(Left above finger of figure of "Fame.") 

Brave of the brave, the twice five thousand men 
Who all that day stood in the battle's shock, 

Fame holds them dear, and with immortal pen 
Inscribes their names on the enduring rock. 

(Right) 

"the world will little note nor long remember 

WHAT we say here, BUT IT CAN NEVER FORGET WHAT THEY 
DID HERE.'' 

(Shield and ribbon at top.) 

E PLURIBUS UNUM. 

(Wreath) ^ 

IOWA IN MEMORY OF SHILOH. 



The Regimental Monuments. 

The eleven regimental monuments are uniform in size and 
design, differing only in the inscriptions. They, like the state 
monument, are built of Barre, Vermont, granite and United 
States standard bronze. A monument is erected to each Iowa 
regiment engaged in the battle and stands at the point where the 
regiment fought the longest and suffered its greatest loss. Upon 
a bronze tablet set in the granite is described the part taken by 
the regiment in the battle. The commission prepared the design 
for these monuments. The contract for their erection was let 
to P. N. Peterson Granite Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, for 
eighteen thousand and fifty-one dollars. 



292 SHILOH 

INSCRIPTIONS ON REGIMENTAL MONUMENTS. 

(Front) 

IOWA 

TO HER 2D INFANTRY 

TUTTLE^S (iST) BRIGADE 

w. H. L. Wallace's (2d) division 

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



(Back) 



IOWA 

2D REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY LT. COL. JAMES BAKER 



This regiment held this position from about 9 a.m. until 
4:30 P.M., April 6, 1862, successfully resisting repeated as- 
saults from the enemy's infantry and the heavy fire of his ar- 
tillery. Then, being nearly surrounded, it was ordered to fall 
back, which it did in good order, through a heavy cross fire 
from both flanks, to a point about one mile from this place 
where it formed in line and held its position until darkness 
closed the fighting for that day. 

On April 7th, the regiment moved out early in reserve and 
was at different times under fire. About 2 P.M. it was ordered, 
by General Nelson, to charge across a field on the enemy in the 
woods beyond, which was done in most gallant manner, the 
enemy retiring. This ended the two days' fighting for this 
regiment. 

Number engaged, 490. Its loss was, killed and wounded, 
68; missing, 4; total, 72. 

(Front) 

IOWA 

TO HER 3RD INFANTRY 

WILLIAMS' (iST) brigade 

HURLBUT's (4TH) DIVISION 

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



SHILOH 293 

(Back) 

IOWA 

3RD REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY MAJOR WILLIAM M. STONE, (Captured) 

LIEUT. GEORGE W. CROSLEY 

This regiment went into action Sunday, April 6th, 1862, on 
the south side of this field at about 9 a.m. It soon fell back to 
this place which it held against repeated attacks until 2 p.m., 
when it fell back 200 yards, and one hour later withdrew to the 
Wicker field. Here it was engaged until 4 P.M., when it retired, 
fighting to its camp, where it was nearly surrounded, but broke 
through the ranks of the enemy and joined the command of 
Col. M. M. Crocker in front of the 2nd Iowa camp where it 
bivouacked Sunday night. 

On Monday it was engaged under Lieut. Crosley, he being 
senior officer for duty. 

Present for duty, including officers, musicians, teamsters, etc., 
560. 

Its loss was 23 men killed; 6 officers and 128 men wounded; 
3 officers and 27 men missing; total 187. 



(Front) 



IOWA 
TO HER 6tH INFANTRY 
MCDOWELL^S (iST) BRIGADE 

Sherman's (sth) division 
army of the tennessee 



(Back) 



IOWA 
6th REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 
COMMANDED BY CAPT. JOHN WILLIAMS, (Wounded) 
CAPT. MADISON M. WALDEN 

This regiment held a position near its camp on the Purdy 
road, the extreme right of the army, until 10 a.m., April 6, 
1862. Then it moved to the left and rear, and was engaged 



294 SHILOH 

in this vicinity, against a strong force of the enemy's infantry 
and artillery for four hours; — its last position being in Jones 
field, from which it was ordered to retire about 2 130 P.M. It 
then fell back to the support of Webster's line of artillery, 
where it was engaged when the battle closed at sundown. 

In detachments, commanded by company officers, the regi- 
ment participated in the movements of the army throughout 
the 7th. 

Present for duty, officers 27; men 605 ; total 632. 

Its loss was, killed, 52; wounded, 100; captured, 37; total 
189. 



(Front) 

IOWA 

to her 7th infantry 

tuttle's (ist) brigade 

w. H. L. Wallace's (2nd) division 

army of the TENNESSEE 



(Back) 



IOWA 
7TH REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 
COMMANDED BY LT. COL. J. C. PARROTT 



On the morning of April 6, 1862, the regiment, as a part of 
the brigade formed in line of battle on the left of the 2d 
Iowa Volunteer Infantry, on a sunken road, the center of the 
regiment being where this monument stands. It held its posi- 
tion, repelling a number of attacks until late in the afternoon 
when the brigade was ordered to fall back. In the retreat the 
regiment was subjected to a severe fire from both sides. It 
reformed in a new line of battle along a road leading to the 
Landing and held that position during the night. 

On the morning of April 7th, the regiment was assigned to 
the reserve and, under orders from General Crittenden, charged 
and captured one of the enemy's batteries. 



SHILOH 295 

Present for duty, Including officers, musicians, teamsters, 
etc., 383. 

Its loss was, I officer and 9 men killed; 17 men wounded; 
7 men missing; total, 34. 



(Front) 



(Back) 



IOWA 
IN MEMORY OF HER 8TH INFANTRY 

Sweeney's (30) brigade 
w. H. L. Wallace's (20) division 

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



IOWA 

8th REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY COL. J. L. GEDDES 



The regiment held this position from about 1 1 A.M.,. April 
6, 1862, until about 4 p.m., when It changed front to the left 
and held this second position until about 5 p.m. When nearly 
surrounded It attempted to retreat, but finding all avenues of 
escape cut off, surrendered about 6 p.m. 

The regiment entered the engagement with an aggregate 
of about 600 men. 

Its loss was, killed 40; wounded, (18 mortally) 113; miss- 
ing, 340; total, 493. 



(Front) 



IOWA 

to her ii th infantry 
hare's (ist) brigade 

MCCLERNAND's (ist) DIVISION 
ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



(Back) 



IOWA 

II TH REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY LT. COL. WM. HALL, (Wounded) 



296 SHILOH 

This regiment, detached from its brigade, was placed in 
position here by order of General McClernand about 9 130 
A.M., April 6, 1862. 

It was at once strongly attacked by the enemy, suffering 
here its most severe loss. 

It held this position until 1 1 a.m., when it retired to its 
second position 100 yards in front of its camp in Jones field. 

It had present for duty, 763. Its loss was, i officer and 33 
men killed; 5 officers and 155 men wounded; i man missing; 
total 195. 



(Front) 



IOWA 

TO HER I2TH INFANTRY 

TUTTLE's (iST) BRIGADE 

w. H. L. Wallace's (2d) division 

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



(Back) 



IOWA 
I2TH REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY COL. J. J. WOODS, (Wounded and Captured) 
CAPT. s. R. EDGINGTON, (Captured) 

This regiment held this position against repeated attacks, 
from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M., April 6, 1862. It was then about-faced 
to meet an attack coming from the rear, and fought its way back 
to the camp of the 41st Illinois, where it was surrounded and 
captured at 5 130 p.m. 

Total number reported present for duty, including mi'sicians, 
teamsters, etc., 489. 

Its lo?s in the battle was: 2 officers and 15 men killed; i 
officer anci 42 men wounded and left on the field; 33 men 
wounded anu captured; 20 officers and 366 men missing; total, 

479- 

Of the wounded, 16 died of their wounds; of the missing 

4 were never afterwards heard from, they were doubtless 

killed; o^ <"he missing 71 died in prison. 



//;' 



WAP OF 

SHILOH BATTLEFIELD. 

POSITIONS ON FIRST DAY APRIL6,I8B2 
PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 

THE SECRETARY OF WAR 

BY THC 

sMOfi mmm. mmfmmmmm 

SURVEYED AND DRAWN BY 
ATWELL THOMPSON, B.E. 

ENGINEER IN CHARGE 

1900. 

UNtON ARMY 

CONFEDEflATE ARMY v 

HEADQUARTERS..-^ 




SHILOH 297 



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IOWA 

to her i3th infantry 

hare's (ist) brigade 

mcclernand's (ist) division 

army of the tennessee 



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IOWA 

I3TH REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY COLONEL MARCELLUS M. CROCKER 

This regiment held this position from 9 a.m. to ii a.m., 
April 6, 1862. Retired under orders about two hundred yards, 
and maintained its position until about 2 :30 p.m. Moved to a 
point near the camp of the 15th Illinois Infantry where it re- 
pelled a charge of Wharton's Cavalry. 

Under orders, moved to a point near and west of, the camp 
of 3d Iowa Infantry, where it fought its severest engage- 
ment and remained until about 4:30 P.M., when both flanks 
being turned it fell back, by order, to the Corinth road and 
joined a portion of Colonel Tuttle's Command; advanced to- 
wards the enemy; then retired to the last line of the day, its 
right in front of the camp of the 14th Iowa. 

Was in reserve line on the 7th with slight loss. 

Present for duty, including officers, musicians, teamsters, etc., 
760. 

Its loss was, I officer and 23 men killed; i officer and 15 men 
died of wounds; 8 officers and 118 men wounded; 5 men miss- 
ing; total 171. 



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IOWA 

TO HER I4TH INFANTRY 

tuttle's (iST) BRIGADE 

w. H. l. Wallace's (2d) division 

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



298 SHILOH 

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IOWA 

I4TH REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY COL. W. T. SHAW 

This regiment (seven companies), held this position against 
repeated attacks from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., April 6, 1862. 

In attempting to follow the rest of the brigade, which was 
being withdrawn, it became hotly engaged about 200 yards 
east of this position. 

Repulsing this attack it continued to retire towards the Ham- 
burg Road, fighting heavily. Reaching the camp of the 3 2d 
Illinois Infantry it found itself entirely surrounded by the junc- 
tion of the Confederate right and left wings. It was captured 
about 6 P.M. 

Present for duty, including musicians, teamsters, etc., 442. 

Its loss was, killed 8 men; wounded 2 officers and 37 men; 
captured 15 officers and 211 men; total 273. 

Of the wounded, 5 died of their wounds; of the captured, 
15 died in prison. 



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IOWA 

TO HER I5TH INFANTRY 

PRENTISS' (6th) DIVISION 

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE 



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IOWA 

I5TH REGIMENT INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY COL. HUGH T. REID, (Wounded) 

This regiment arrived at Pittsburg Landing on the morning 
of April 6, 1862. It disembarked, formed on the bluff, and 
there received its first ammunition. It remained In this position 
about an hour, when under the orders of General Grant, and 
conducted by one of his staff officers, it marched to join Mc- 
Clernand's (ist) Division. 



SHILOH 299 

It entered the field to the right of this monument near Ogles- 
by's headquarters and while crossing it was fired upon by 
artillery and musketry. It formed line of battle and advanced 
under fire into the woods. Its Colonel commanding officially 
reported that the regiment held its position from lo o'clock 
in the forenoon until 12 o'clock noon, and then under orders 
retired to a new line. Portions of the regiment fought with 
other divisions later in the day and on Monday. 

Present for duty 760. Its loss was 2 officers and 19 men 
killed; 7 officers and 149 men wounded; 2 officers and 6 men 
captured or missing; total 185. 



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IOWA 
TO HER I 6th infantry 

miller's (2d) brigade 

PRENTISS' (6th) division 
ARMY OF the TENNESSEE 



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IOWA 

I 6th regiment infantry VOLUNTEERS 

COMMANDED BY COL. ALEXANDER CHAMBERS, (Wounded) 

LIEUT. COL. ADD. H. SANDERS 

This regiment early in the morning of April 6, 1 862, formed 
on the bluff at Pittsburg Landing and for the first time received 
ammunition. It remained in this position an hour, when by 
orders of General Grant it marched with the 15th Iowa to the 
support of McClernand's (ist) Division. 

It entered the field near Oglesby's headquarters and while 
passing over it was fired upon by artillery and musketry. Its 
Colonel commanding officially reported that the regiment 
formed line of battle here about 10:30 in the forenoon, and 
advancing to the edge of timber held that position for an hour 
or more, and then retired under orders. Later in the day 



300 SHILOH 

under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sanders It supported 
Schwartz's battery. On Monday it was on the reserve line. 

Present for duty, 785. Its loss was 2 officers and 15 men 
killed; 11 officers and 90 men wounded; 13 men captured or 
missing; total 131. 



IN CONCLUSION. 

Two days full of intense interest were spent at Pittsburg 
Landing, under the leadership of Colonel Bell, the members 
of the Iowa Shiloh commission, and other veterans who helped 
make history here in this marvellous contest of brave, resolute, 
and determined men, north and south. A distinguished south- 
erner has said of the battle: "The South never smiled after 
Shiloh." 

The mission of the Governor and the commissions was com- 
pleted. The boats steamed away down the beautiful Tennessee, 
reaching Paducah, Kentucky, Saturday morning. The Iowa 
party spent the day in the city, the guests of the Elks' Club 
in their beautiful new building. Luncheon was served, and a 
delightful reception given by officials, prominent citizens, and 
ladies of Paducah. 

Saturday night the Governor's Special started on the home- 
v/ard journey, reaching Chicago Sunday morning, November 
twenty-fifth. Here the party left the special train and took 
separate trains for their homes. Throughout the trip the ar- 
rangements had been most perfect and too much credit cannot 
be bestowed upon those who had the comfort of the party in 
their keeping. Mr. H. J. Phelps, and F. R. Wheeler repre- 
sented the Illinois Central Railway, the latter joining the party 
at Chattanooga; Captain H. M. Pickell of Des Moines, an 
Iowa soldier, represented the Rock Island System; C. A. Ras- 
mussen of Atlantic was in charge of the band car; Reau Camp- 
bell of Chicago, General Manager of the America Tourist 
Association, was in charge of the dining car and commissary 
and N. H. Martin had direction of the sleeping car service. 



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